


Mauling Half-Naked Sex World

by LexiTheDoubleedge



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow, Time Hollow
Genre: Anal, Exhibitionism, F/F, F/M, Food Play, Incest, Masturbation, No Lewds With Dinah, Pool Sex, Porn Logic, Rough Sex, Sex Toys, So Much Porn Logic, The Time Hollow Crossover Is Just Using A Character Design, Unusual Stimulation, Voyeurism, increased sex drive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-01-12 07:50:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 52
Words: 17,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18442223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexiTheDoubleedge/pseuds/LexiTheDoubleedge
Summary: The unauthorized porn parody of the hit fanfic,Mauling Snarks!... Wait, what?





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mauling Snarks](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/472013) by CmptrWz. 
  * Inspired by [Naked Sex World](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3375773) by [Axxor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Axxor/pseuds/Axxor). 
  * Inspired by [Confrontation](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/472016) by ack1308. 



Welcome to quite possibly the most self-indulgent thing I've ever even considered writing. The best way to describe this would probably be as a porn parody of CmptrWz's Mauling Snarks, using elements from Ack's Naked Sex World... and Confrontation, because the world needs more consensual Sophia/Taylor.

In this world, Jacob never found Taylor's bullying records, and with the closure of Winslow she decided she'd rather just try to leave it all behind her. Shadow Stalker stayed in the Wards, and since she refused to share identities with anyone and Taylor never saw Sophia again, they manage to remain unaware of each other's identities until very late in the story.

... If that seems too unrealistic to you, you might want to bail before the actual porn logic kicks in.

Unless someone yells at me really scarily, this will be an ongoing series of snippets and sniplets based on whatever I think would be funny, in whatever order seems convenient. (Anything posted at the same time will generally be in chronological order though.) Where applicable there will be notes as to which chapter and scene of Mauling Snarks a snip corresponds to. If I talk about something in relation to 'canon' without qualifying which canon I am referring to, it probably means Mauling Snarks canon, not Worm canon.

Expect more adult humor and theorycrafting than full-on explicitness here, but there are some more explicit parts... and the occasional bit of angst.

This series was originally posted to QQ in batches of 3-5 snips. For organizational purposes, I'm posting each snip as a separate chapter here, but they will be marked as to which batch they came from.

Why "Half-Naked"? Self-indulgence. More detail in the notes for the first snip.


	2. 1:1 Nobody Told Me Being Half-naked Could Be Like This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 9, Maul's power testing)

The last segment of her power testing was probably the most fascinating in principle, but the most boring in execution. For almost an hour they'd had her putting on different bits of clothing - often with what appeared to be carefully calibrated cutouts, and not always over the interesting parts - and redoing some of the previous tests.

The odd thing was that they didn't even try to retest her snark detection range. Which was really interesting to her, since as far as she could tell it didn't diminish no matter -what- she was wearing.

'Kovalenko Mapping" was what the tech had called it. Apparently the PRT liked to give the Wards as much protection and utility as they could manage without sacrificing their powers in the process, an attitude she fully approved of. So they needed to know what parts they could actually get away with covering, in fine detail. Some snarks seemed to want their human to flaunt everything they had, while others liked to hint and tease, and everything in between. Branding would be impossible without knowing how much material they had to work with, too.

There were a couple of things she had to look askance at though. Like the body paint. Was that really necessary?

"Just be glad your powers don't create anything that could be used to cover you," the tech had retorted. "I still have nightmares about the testing methods they came up with for Brandish and Narwhal."

Taylor wasn't sure how seriously to take that.

The section on head coverings was more of a puzzle, but the explanation made sense. Most parahumans had very low K-numbers for their entire heads, but some of the exceptions imposed strict limitations when it came to masks, so they had to cover all the bases. Thankfully almost no parahumans had significant limits on footwear, and all the known exceptions were fliers anyway.

Actually, hadn't she had run into the headgear thing before? There'd been a thread on PHO theorizing that part of why the BBB had such a hard time with Marquis was that their faces had high K-numbers, since they'd become far more effective after unmasking. Taylor had thought at the time that it was probably just due to time and greater experience, but maybe there was something to it.

When the computers finally finished chewing on the data, they had a set of "heat maps" showing how viable it was to cover any given part of her body, with numerical annotations for each area, along with a few other numerical values.. Apparently her right breast had a slightly higher K-number than her left, which was funny because she was pretty sure that one was less sensitive. Go figure. But most of her torso was green or yellow-green at worst, which boded well for her getting some actually useful armor. Sure, her enhancements helped already, but it was never bad to have more protection.

Her "initiator factor", a measure of how much a parahuman could wear before they would start seeing power decline, was 1.3, which was apparently a little on the high side, but still within the typical range. Most were somewhere between 1 and 1.5, with rare examples going down to 0.5 or up to 2 or more. Though sometimes you got some real outliers, like the local rogue Parian, who was theorized to have an initiator factor of -ten-, able to wear a full-body costume -with layers!- without any apparent reduction in her power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we've got a much more relaxed set of clothing rules here than in NSW. There's several reasons for that.
> 
> 1\. I have a lot of clothing-related fetishes. (See "self-indulgent".)  
> 2\. When I thought about what the sensible-PRT of MS would do with a system like this that was even a bit lenient, there was an obvious answer - they'd -minmax the everloving shit out of it-. Which amuses me. (Again, see "self-indulgent".)  
> 3\. I had some fun ideas about the clothing situations of other parahumans that, if not require, are facilitated by, a more involved system.
> 
> In keeping with "Maul's testers kind of fell down on the job", some additional information that does apply to her has not been revealed yet...
> 
> There was originally going to be an additional conversation in this...
> 
> \---  
> Actually, could Broadcast Administrator just tell her everything directly?
> 
> <Negation. Curiousity>
> 
> Huh. Apparently snarks weren't actually in control of that, and hers was just as interested in seeing the results as she was.  
> \---
> 
> It was removed because Taylor hadn't actually started talking directly with BA at this point.


	3. 1:2 Hulder Doesn't Make the Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 95, Hulder's power testing)

Taylor had warned her that the last part of her power testing would be really boring. As though the rest of the tests weren't already boring.

Aisha wasn't sure what she'd been on about though. They'd had her put on a dress, hide in a few things, and that was all it'd taken. The whole "Kovalenko Mapping" thing had been surprisingly anticlimactic, but she got to leave sooner, so it was all good.

At least that's what she thought until she saw the costume designs Branding had come up with for her.

**

"WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS?!?"

None of the staffers passing by even turned to look. Parahumans yelling at Branding was an almost daily occurrence around here, you got used to it.

**

Thanks to her habit of coming into the PRT building even when she didn't have to, Missy was one of the first people outside of PR to see Hulder's new costume.

As well as one of the first people outside of PR to listen to Aisha gripe about it.

In fact, she felt she was rapidly on her way to becoming the single person who had heard Aisha griping about it the most.

"... and how am I supposed to be any kind of sex idol if I don't show any skin? Fuck, even screwing with the Empire isn't worth this..."

That was it, she'd had enough of this. Reaching out with her power, she grabbed one of the gaps around Aisha's face, expanded it to expose Aisha's mouth, and slammed her lips into the other girls'.

Missy held the kiss long enough to be sure Aisha had shut up before pulling back and releasing her power. "You look fantastic," she said. Maybe it didn't show any skin, but Aisha's costume did nothing to hide her curves. "You'll be the present everyone wants to unwrap."

Aisha pulled her helmet off before wrapping herself around the other Ward. "Do you like to tear the paper off all at once?"

"You want to pay for a new costume already?" Missy smirked.

"... Just kiss me again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end (anything after "tear the paper off") just would not come out the way I wanted it, and I finally just said the hell with it.
> 
> Hulder is an example of something that should have come up for Maul, but didn't - some powers just aren't affected by the Kovalenko effect at all. This is most often seen in powers whose effects are essentially binary. Hulder either hides or doesn't. Coil either splits the timeline or doesn't. (Technically, in MS he never actually does, but the principle still applies to him, although not to some other precogs.) Maul's snark range not decreasing is actually another example of communications bits being different, but that hadn't actually come up yet at this point in the story, so they should have labeled it as a binary effect during testing.
> 
> Since I don't expect them coming up anytime soon, I'll just say the other major exceptions now. Tinkers suffer no ill effects from wearing any protective equipment required to produce their creations safely, whether it be goggles or a full-on jim suit. Just don't try to design anything that way. UMR's "Understanding" is unaffected by clothing, and follows normal tinker rules otherwise. (Wait, does that just mean UMR is completely unaffected? I coulda sworn I'd come up with some reason why it would be affected sometimes.)
> 
> Also, the Kovalenko effect has absolutely no effect in either single or multi tinker fugues.


	4. 1:3 If You Aren't Abusing Your Powers For Sexual Purposes, You Aren't Trying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 20, Missy expands the pouches in Maul's utility belt)

I stopped and stared at a bottle of lube that I was about to put in one of my newly-expanded belt pouches. "I wonder what would happen if you enlarged a container of liquid, and then tried to empty it out? With solid objects the added mass doesn't seem to act particularly oddly in and of itself, but a liquid might be different." Gasses too, for that matter, but that was probably more dangerous to experiment with.

It wasn't until I finished stowing everything away that I realized Missy had gone very quiet. Then she turned and left without saying another word.

I shrugged and set Missy's laptop in a safe place before getting back to my own research. She'd come back for it sooner or later, and I could hear about it if she'd figured out a new trick then.

**

Several hours later I got a message from Missy on my Maul phone. There were three pictures.

The first one was labeled "before", with a slightly grainy closeup of a bottle of lube.

"After" was an image of a shower with a few small puddles on the tile, and the same bottle, now half-empty, sitting off to the side.

"During" was the shower again, now featuring a near-naked and postively drenched Missy, her hair plastered to her head and every inch of skin wet and gleaming. From the look on her face she'd already ridden the suction-cup dildo beneath her to at least one orgasm before the picture was taken.

And then a message. "Best idea ever! <3 -Vista"

Wow. That looked intense. I wasn't sure I could handle for something like that.

Oh, who am I kidding. I was definitely asking to join Missy in a cup of not-tea the next time we both had an evening off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSW is full of horny teenagers with cell phones, yet I did not spot one instance of sexting. Had to do something about that.
> 
> This idea was, of course, not inspired by my being a fan of lotion play. No, I'm serious, it actually wasn't that. Though I probably wouldn't have *written* it otherwise, so I can still claim self-indulgence.
> 
> Somewhere in the comments in the MS thread there was speculation about what would happen if Missy expanded a container full of liquid, but nothing about the effects of moving the container around, much less pouring it out. Frankly I think this usage probably strains the limits of plausibility, but Rule of Sexy is in full force here.


	5. 2:1 It's No Fun When it's Already Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 6, Taylor meets Vicky for the first time)

[Assertion]

_Yeah, she's gorgeous._

[Confusion. Determination. Assertion.]

_What? Look, I'm already adoring her just fine on my own._

[Determination. ASSERTION.]

_I said YES. STOP IT._

[ASSERTION.]

_SHUT UP_ <Additional Connections Established> _AND LET ME LOOK AT HER IN PEACE!_ <Additional Connections Established>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I was going to have Vicky's snark be confused, but agreeable.
> 
> Then I realized that would be breaking the timeline over my knee. No shouting at Vicky's snark, no punch, no brain damage healing, no link to Amy and accompanying Tinker snarks, etc etc etc.
> 
> The title is a (probably misremembered) quote of an El Goonish Shive strip title.


	6. 2:2 Collateral Damage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (chapter 21, Taylor mentions Maul having hit Vicky while at lunch)

Vicky pouted, but news spread fairly quickly. In fact, what Taylor and Amy had said made it, word for word, into a post on PHO before lunch was over.

Taylor did feel a bit bad about it though. Not so much for what she'd said or done, but she knew better than anyone just how much this was really a fight between her and Vicky's snark, with the other girl being caught in the middle.

Maybe she should find a way to make it up to Vicky a little.

***

"Taylor, you don't really need to-" Then Vicky moaned. "oh god right there"

Taylor smiled, taking that last part as "you definitely need to". Not that she was complaining. Vicky was -delicious-.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taylor does seem to forgive Vicky pretty quickly, which makes sense given the situation with her snark. I'm just making it a bit more explicit.
> 
> Pun not intended. (But I'll take credit for it anyway.)
> 
> Since this takes place before Taylor has had 'the parahuman version of the talk', she doesn't know there's anything weird about her being interested in Vicky.


	7. 2:3 The Exception That Proves the Rule

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (chapter 76)

_Amy: So, you’re now one of the experts in parahuman psychology, right?_

_Taylor: Technically?_

_Amy: I don't suppose you have any thoughts on why I'm, er, more attracted to Vicky than I used to be?_

Taylor blinked.

_Amy: Er, right. That probably needs explaining. After you shut down her aura I noticed I liked her less, kinda? But I still found her attractive. But since the thing with Leet and all, I find her hotter than ever?_

_Taylor: That goes against everything I thought I knew about parahuman sexual attraction._

<BA: Data>

_Taylor: But you're a social snark and we both kinda dislike Vicky's snark._

<BA: Clarification>

_Taylor: Snarks can have hatesex?_

_Amy: I'm not sure if I should be disturbed by the idea, or just grateful that it applies here. I like being attracted to my sister._

<BA: ...Query. Elaboration.>

_Taylor: Yes, I would be willing to have a threesome with Amy and Vicky. Just don't expect me to mess around with her for you. I like Vicky._

<BA: Acceptance. Smugness>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having Vicky's snark back off would also break this joke...


	8. 2:4 Sometimes, Armsmaster Can Read Between the Lines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 78, Maul's tinker testing)

She’d just finished sending a message off to Chris, Missy, and Glenn about that thought when Franklin returned with Colin and a cart with a number of items on it. She looked over them, very interested in a couple, she’d already seen one of the others, and of the rest...

"I'm not really interested in demonstrating how the sex toy works in front of this big a group," Taylor said, causing everyone to look at her. "What?"

“We were unaware that there was a sex toy in the mix,” Colin said, looking over the contents of the cart. “In fact, I’m unsure which item you’re referring to.”

"The pain and pleasure 'stick' on the bottom shelf. It's intended to be used internally." Calling it that was really quite an oversimplification - it had a startling number of options. Pain had never been Taylor's thing even before the changes the fugue had made to some of her physical responses, but she definitely wanted to try some of the pleasure ones.

"We're going to have to have a chat with that tinker, apparently."

***

Later, Taylor found a package in her mailbox with a note.

_Since the tinker who created this device submitted it to the general pool, and no one else has expressed a full understanding of it's functions, it has been officially transferred to you._

_And yes, it's been washed._

Taylor grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sora's reception in this timeline might be a bit different...
> 
> It's quite possible Taylor would be more interested in demonstrating if the entire audience were parahumans...


	9. 2:5 I Would Love to Have Your Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 97, Maul meets the Boston Wards)

Taylor sighed. "I don't suppose one of the things you've made is a small stick capable of causing pleasure or pain depending on the settings?"

Sora blinked, then her eyes went wide. "They brought one to your power testing!?"

"Yep. It's pretty useful." That was putting it mildly. Some of the pain settings really got Vicky going when she was in full shields mode, and she'd get all bossy and demanding... teasing her about it afterwards was almost as much fun as the sex itself was. "But I don't think hearing about that would make you happy."

Sora sighed. "It's not that I _mind_ people using them that way. But I want to help save people's lives, not just help them get off. But I can't seem to make anything that _isn't_ usable in the bedroom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I still count as mean to Sora if her situation is unchanged or better in every possible way? Yeah, she's still got a specialization that is non-optimal for what she wants to do. (If she wanted to just go with it, she'd be everyone's favorite rogue in this setting, which... actually might be fun in a different way, yeah.) But can you really see her getting more than mildly chided for hiding her specialization in this world?
> 
> And also she's probably having a lot of sex, that probably helps her mood a bit even if she doesn't want to be -all- about that. I honestly don't know if it feels right for Taylor to 'comfort' her during this scene or not. (Come on, Taylor pulls her down on a bed in canon, I can't not consider the possibility...)
> 
> I'm not sure where I got the idea from to have Vicky be a non-submissive masochist.* It's totally a thing that happens, but I'm not sure I've -ever- seen it in fiction, so I kinda had to do it.
> 
> Of course, that then leaves what her other settings do. I figure when her aura is on she picks up some exhibitionism, but I don't have any good ideas for her strength/flight switch. Let alone when everything is turned on. Though all of them are fairly mild, and wouldn't be obvious to anyone who's not a regular sex partner.
> 
> *Er, other than canon, maybe? It occurred to me while writing this that Vicky seemed really into bashing herself with things that one time in the testing gym, even if that wouldn't actually hurt her.
> 
> And now the notes are longer than the snip.


	10. 3:1 Value is Relative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Prior to the beginning of Mauling Snarks)

While Lisa was very unhappy about having been forced into a supervillain group at gunpoint, there were a few upsides. Her teammates, while they had some rough edges, were reasonably professional and pleasant to work with. The pay was quite good.

And then there was the point where those two things came together.

With her share from one of their first jobs, Lisa had purchased a custom-designed flotation tank. It was open-topped - any possible sight-blocking enclosure would be merely an inferior substitute for Brian's darkness. The tinker-made fluid used was highly buoyant, scentless, and did not transmit shocks well, but felt like touching nothing at all on the skin. (Although it tasted terrible. She'd gotten good at not splashing after the first couple times.) The gaskets for her thighs and waist were unfortunately not quite so imperceptible, but they came surprisingly close. They did make entering the tank somewhat awkward - it couldn't be completely filled without her inside, but without the liquid she couldn't stay in place - but they'd figured it out.

And so, when they had time, and she really needed it, she could lie back on as close to nothing as possible, cloaked in darkness but with genitals exposed, and either Brian or Rachel would try to bring her to orgasm.

Some days, they even succeeded.

Today was Brian's turn, and he was currently licking...

_Had a sub for lunch today._

Eeeew. "Go brush your teeth again, you've got a bit of lettuce stuck in your teeth."

Time passed. Lisa did her best to stay in the mood. Her power couldn't quite ruin fantasy for her, but it did seem to try it's best.

Finally, she felt his tongue again.

_More aggressive than usual_

_Likes how you taste_

_Isn't being more aggressive because of liking how you taste_

_Trying to forget something_

_Caught his sister masturbating in public_

Sheesh, that girl had an exhibitionist streak a mile wide. God help them if Aisha ever triggered. She'd look at the stories about Wards members having wild orgies with entire high school classes as a challenge to not merely meet, but to surpass.

Actually, this was pretty good. She might be able to cum today.

When Grue started thrusting, something was obviously off.

_Distracted_

_Hasn't managed to forget seeing his sister masturbating in public_

Okay, that had officially worn out it's welcome. "Brian. Just focus on me, okay?" Lisa was vain enough that it wouldn't throw her off when her power told her about people being attracted to her, which she had no intention of apologizing for.

Lisa was almost to the edge when Brian came-

_Not getting enough magnesium_

-and her power didn't quite manage to keep that from pushing her over. Lisa didn't scream, or cry out his name, or anything like that. It just wasn't that good.

But for Lisa, it was enough to make the effort worthwhile. Her smile was genuine as he helped her out of the tank (which was almost as much of a production to leave as to enter, if she wanted to avoid making a huge mess). "Thanks. Let me know when you want me to return the favor." The stuff Brian liked didn't do much for her, but it wasn't particularly -unpleasant- either. It was a small price to pay to maintain harmony within the group.

Brian nodded. "You said the boss has a new job for us?"

"Yeah. The others should be back in about a half hour, so that's enough time for us to get cleaned up before I show you the plan..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSW has Lisa able to get by with bondage gear and Grue's darkness, but I just can't see the former not creating way too much noise once Inference Engine goes into full TMI mode. Luckily, you can get a tinkertech anything in the Maulingverse, and since it -never changes-, Lisa's stopped getting new irrelevant details about it. Combined with Brian's care and attention to detail, or Rachel's simple and direct approach, the experience is barely adequate. (Alec, being a complicated jerk, could never get Lisa off, but I don't think he's interested anyway.)
> 
> Lisa is another example of a parahuman with a super-high initiator factor, essentially immune to the Kovalenko effect.
> 
> The short version is, I'm mean to Lisa.
> 
> And what "stuff" does Brian like Lisa to do for him? The answer is obvious - whatever I find most amusing if and when I decide to write about it.


	11. 3:2 Maul and the Undersiders^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Tattletale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 25, Brian and Lisa run into Taylor at the boardwalk after Coil's capture)

"Brian," Lisa said, nodding in Taylor’s general direction. "I think we should talk to Miss Hebert about our issues."

Brian spun around in his seat to take a look. "Why is she already staring at us?"

Lisa blinked. Shit, why _was_ Taylor staring at them?

_Finds you sexually attractive._

Sure, thanks power, that was real helpful. Not like Lisa already knew she ticked a lot of people's boxes even when she wasn't wearing a skintight purple costume.

_Knows the two of you are parahumans._

That was a much greater concern.

_Is the best sexual partner you'll ever have._

Wait, what?

But her power had gone silent.

They definitely needed to go talk to Taylor. Because she knew they were parahumans. Definitely not because she was the first person ever that her power had ranked higher than "a barely adequate sexual partner". Honest.

***

Lisa smiled softly before leaning in and kissing Taylor. It was slow, gentle, but not tentative. Everything she'd done with Taylor had been like that. And Taylor understood why.

It was because she -could-. Lisa could do things with her that she couldn't do with anyone else, because her power would make too much noise for her to enjoy it. Now that she had the chance, she was going to savor every moment of it.

Taylor knew that Lisa had had sex before. Lisa had told her details even, about all the little tricks that she'd needed to make sex even vaguely possible for her.

But in a very real and meaningful way, she was still Lisa's first.

[Query]

_No. I don't think Lisa really wants to know that._

[Gratitude]

***

When negotiating her contract with the PRT, Lisa had insisted one one very unusual clause - wherever Maul was stationed, she would be stationed. They were a package deal.

This would not normally be something that the organization would go along with, but after hearing her explanation and seeing the results of her power testing, opposition was quietly withdrawn.

There were many groups within the PRT that wanted to have a Thinker of Lisa's skill working for them. Absolutely no one wanted a sexually frustrated teenaged Thinker who held them personally responsible for the 'sexually frustrated' part working for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I just gave Lisa two (eventually) or more excellent lovers. I'm not mean to Lisa.
> 
> Actually, one of the things that set this whole idea in motion was thinking that Maul would be a better partner for Lisa than Harmonic is. Variety beats intensity.
> 
> And of course there's no way this Lisa will be putting up with a transfer out of Brockton Bay, and sensible-PRT is smart enough to not try it.
> 
> In it's original format, the title of this snip had "the Undersiders" in strikethrough, but since Ao3 doesn't allow html in chapter titles, I had to go for something more low-tech.


	12. 3:3 Every Problem is Somebody Else's Solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sometime after chapter 32)

Dinah snuggled down under the covers, sighing with the simple pleasure that comes from the relief of pain that had lingered for so long that it had been accepted as a constant companion.

The source of her happiness was her new sleepwear. A full bodysuit of a tinker-made fabric known colloquially as "Blackout", it was startlingly thick, but extraordinarily light and breathable, and flexible enough to allow a full range of motion despite it's volume. It wasn't durable enough to be viable for suppressing the powers of dangerous parahumans, but for those like her whose powers both harmed the user and defied traditional Kovalenko mapping, suits like this were perfect.

They were also a bit of a double-edged sword. There were so few real applications for Blackout that wearing clothing made from it in public would be the same as outing herself. And civilian purchases of the material were one of the many things the gangs watched for in an attempt to identify new parahumans.

For that matter, there could be a few raised eyebrows from child protection about someone buying a bodysuit like this for a child of her age, no matter what material it was made of.

But between advice from Taylor and Lisa, her parents' money and contacts, and a few judicious uses of her own power, they'd been able to acquire one without tipping off any unpleasant persons.

Taylor had been careful to warn her not to overdo it. Apparently her power liked her quite a bit and was willing to work with her as much as it could to make things less unpleasant, but if she pushed too far it would have to make things even worse the next time she opened up to the mosaic. But if nothing else, it made her nights much more restful. And that made the days easier too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No lewds with Dinah. But I wanted to play around with the idea of using deliberately heavy clothing to suppress an inconvenient power, and she was the best option, since I had other plans for Tattletale.
> 
> "Blackout" is a boring name, but I couldn't come up with a better one. It's not even black, you jerks!


	13. 4:1 (Shadow) Stalker with a Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Shortly after chapter 14 and Maul's first patrol.)

What the fuck? Since when had Hebert had these kind of ties with the PRT? No way Sophia could have any more fun with her now, those assholes did not fuck around.

Normally, she wouldn't have taken this development lying down, but she had recently discovered a new and much more enjoyable way to spend her time.

Maul.

Sophia had her doubts at first. Getting so friendly with the rest of the chumps was -not- the way to make her think someone was worth spending time around. A couple of them weren't bad when she was horny enough, that was all they were worth as far as she was concerned.

But damn, the girl had style. First patrol, charges some asshole who already had a gun on her, beating them down with a -wok-, and not even bothering to look like she gave a shit when he -did- shoot her? Yeah, yeah, not tactically sound, whatever, that didn't make it even remotely not badass.

She could put up with the chumps for some of that. With Maul's power and her finesse, they could really show the scum a bad time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just like having Shadow Stalker refer to the other Wards as chumps. It's an inherently funny word.
> 
> her finesse - I can hear you snickering over there. But if you look at her actual abilities next to what Maul has shown so far, and pair her up with someone she actually respects, they should be able to do those kind of tactics quite well.


	14. 4:2 Define 'Cooperate'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (chapter 17)

I wasn't in a good mood today.

Yeah, I'm sure everyone else here would say that I'm never in a good mood. Whatever. First I have to go through all kinds of hell getting in the building because there's a crowd complaining about Glory Girl punching someone or something. And when I finally manage it, I find that -Aegis- hasn't, meaning I'm stuck waiting even longer because I'm supposed to patrol with him.

And then came the part that made me feel like I was coming in on the second act of a three-act play, and I wasn't liking it much.

First Clockblocker showed up and asked Vista why she'd even come in, since she wasn't patrolling. And what'd she say?

"The ice cream parlor was deserted. So I had no problems at all."

If the roles were reversed, I'd think it was just Clockblocker spouting bullshit. It's what he -does-. But Vista?

And then Gallant shows up, asks more or less the same question, follows it up with "gym or ice cream parlor?"... Wait, so there's a gym involved now?

Screw it, I can't take this anymore. "What the -hell- do gyms and ice cream parlors have to do with avoiding mobs?"

Vista seemed to mull it over before handing me a pamphlet.

I read the first page. "I hate everyone in this entire organization." I meant it too. How much time had I wasted on this shit? How much time was the PRT wasting on it? Who even thought this was a good idea? It sounded like something Clockblocker would have made up, except he obviously didn't know. (I had to supress a shudder at the realization that I was living in a world that had two people with Clockblocker's sense of humor in it.)

"... At least you can troll the boys with it now?" Vista replied.

It wasn't the first time she'd tried to extend an olive branch to me, but somehow I didn't feel like throwing it back in her face this time. Still... I'd caught the implication that Maul was already in on this, and I wasn't interested in denying her her fun, but I didn't feel like going along with this... this -bullshit- either. So I wouldn't follow my first instinct and show everyone else out of spite. But I wouldn't play along either. "Nah, I think I'll let you and Maul handle that." I got up and stretched. "Let Aegis know I'm in my room, if he ever manages to make it in, okay?"

"Yeah, I can do that," she replied with a smile.

"Thanks." Huh. Vista actually had a pretty cute smile. Who would have thought?

I'd definitely be signing up for this access keys thing. But I'd keep how I came in to myself. Just to spite whoever came up with this whole asinine system.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It defies comprehension that no one asked questions sooner than they did. Especially since it doesn't seem to take much of a question to satisfy Maul at least.
> 
> And since I'm throwing Sophia back in here anyway, why not have her ask? I can't see her playing along with the trolling gracefully, especially if she wasn't around for the first round.
> 
> "How much time is the PRT wasting" is probably my main objection to the whole thing. They seem to go to a lot of trouble sometimes.


	15. 4:3 Communicating with Parahumans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Ehhhh... sometime after chapter 29?)

"What's with you getting all chummy with the Undersiders, anyway?" Shadow Stalker asked.

Over the time we'd been working together, I'd learned a few basic rules for handling difficult conversations with her.

Rule one. Get out the strapon, and one of you assfucks the other senseless. Didn't really matter who did the fucking, just don't forget to bring the topic back up afterwards or she'd be pissed. (I was just as happy to have learned that last part from someone else's example.)

But we'd just -done- that, and I wasn't feeling like another round at the moment.

So on to rule two. Cuss a lot.

"Ever heard the saying that it's better to have someone inside the tent pissing out?" I shrugged. "They had their own shit they had to deal with, but it's over now. Besides, it's not like we're running -low- on jerks in this town."

I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea, but she'd probably let it go. Good enough for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I just think of Shadow Stalker as liking plastic...


	16. 4:4 That Was a Bad Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 156)

I was just as happy not to have been called out to deal with the current crisis. Don't get me wrong, there wasn't a lot I would back down from, but bombs? Nope. No way. This is not the parahuman you are looking for. What the hell am I gonna do to a fucking bomb anyway, shoot it with a crossbow?

Then the Butcher broke into the television broadcast, because things weren't screwed up enough today.

"... All of the explosives will go off at eleven unless Taylor Hebert, in or out of her costume as the Ward Maul, meets with me alone, in person, at the Dockworkers’ compound."

Ohhhh fuck me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rejected ending line: [DESTINATION]
> 
> Because then I'd have had to actually do something from that, and I don't really have any good ideas in that regard.
> 
> It's kind of pushing the bounds of plausibility for Maul and Shadow Stalker to remain ignorant of each other's identities for this long, but I just like the idea too much. And it is facilitated somewhat by the "don't open the door until everyone's masked up" tinkertech that was mentioned at some point.


	17. 4:5 No, THIS is a Bad Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sometime after chapter 166 and the Wards watching the 'movie')

"So, what's this about?" I asked. It wasn't like I minded spending time with Shadow Stalker, and we hadn't done much of it since before TinkerTechCon. But the protesters were wearing on me a bit, and I kind of just wanted to head home now.

"I've been thinking since since everything that happened with the Butcher, and... I think it's time that I unmasked myself to you." She seemed a lot more nervous than I'm used to seeing her, and was muttering something as she undid the catches on her mask... "(please don't kill me)"

What?

The mask came off.

And that was when I apparently discovered a new Mover ability, because I found my fist embedded in Sophia's gut without remembering any transition to that state.

"Heh..." Sophia gasped out. "Always thought you'd have a hell of a right hook if you'd tried, Hebert..."

Shit. That sounded like I'd hurt her pretty badly.

So I healed her.

Sophia straightened up slowly, like she couldn't quite believe that she was doing so without pain. "What the hell? Since when can you heal people like that?"

"You're not the only one who's been keeping secrets." I'd like to ask myself why I'd healed her, but I'd just be pretending I didn't already know.

I liked her. I didn't want to see her hurt.

How fucked up was it that I actually felt that way about _Sophia Hess_?

"So. Why?"

"Why what?"

Okay, now I was pissed again. "You fucking well know 'why what', Hess! Fuck, have you been tormenting other random girls since I ended up out of your reach? Because that seems to be your thing!"

"No! There hasn't been anything else like that!"

"Well, that's -something- I suppose. Why?"

Sophia looked down at the floor. "I don't know."

"I could punch you again. As an anti-hero I probably wouldn't get reprimanded for it."

"Look, I'm serious!" She sighed. "I can remember -doing- it. But I can't tell you why, because none of it makes any fucking sense. Okay, I can tell you why it was you, Emma was kind of obsessed, but even that comes back to... well shit."

This was getting more complicated than I was expecting. "What is it now?"

"I haven't even talked to Emma in months. Haven't even thought about her. And that's starting to seem kind of messed up to me." Sophia looked up. "Look, there's more I could tell you, but it's one of Emma's secrets, not mine. She'd probably have been willing to tell you, once, but I don't think it's my place to make that decision now. Okay?"

Well, no, it wasn't okay is what part of me wanted to say. But I couldn't quite bring myself to stomp on any 'be not a terrible person' impulses Sophia was having. "So where do we go from here?"

"Fuck if I know."

And there was that Mover ability again. This time I'd shoved Sophia down onto the bed and was kissing her hard enough to leave us both breathless.

"That wasn't a request, Hebert."

"You complaining?"

"Fuck no."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sophia's middle name isn't "Fucking" in this timeline. In fact, I'm going to pretend it isn't in any timeline.
> 
> This part (and the next) probably should have had more comments from Amy, but in both cases I couldn't think of more to have her say than just WTFing at all the WTFery, which I didn't feel would contribute anything valuable, so I left it out.


	18. Twist of Hate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Shortly after "No, THIS is a Bad Idea".)

I'd basically come to terms with the fact that I didn't really hate Sophia Hess for her part in nearly destroying my life anymore.

Maybe.

I was working on it.

But I still wanted some answers, and it didn't seem like I was going to get them from -this- horse's mouth. Which is how I found myself someplace I'd never expected or intended to go again, with Sophia herself by my side - on the Barnes' doorstep, ringing the bell.

I wasn't sure what to expect when the door opened, but it wasn't finding a wide-eyed Madison Clements staring at me. "Taylor!?" she exclaimed, before realizing I wasn't alone. "Oh, it's you."

Wait, was Madison happier to see -me- than Sophia?

Madison laughed. It wasn't a particularly nice laugh. "I can already tell this is going to be one hell of a conversation." She turned her head to one side. "Mrs. Barnes! I'm heading out for a while, okay?" I didn't hear the reply, but she nodded before stepping out the door, pulling it shut behind her. She didn't exactly shove past Sophia, but I got the impression that she'd have been quite willing to if the other girl hadn't moved out of the way. "Come on, there's a shop we can go to that's always slow this time of day, they won't mind us hogging a booth if we buy some drinks."

Yeah, I was officially lost here.

***

Somehow, I'd ended up on the same side of the booth as Sophia, which felt very strange to me.

"So. You've got a lot of nerve coming back here like this, Hess. Why are you here, anyway?"

"There are some things I think Taylor needs to know about what happened to Emma. But I wasn't sure that I should be the one to tell her," Sophia replied.

"Okay, that's a good reason. The short version is, -you- happened to Emma. You going to sit around for the long version?"

Sophia just nodded, seeming a bit taken aback. I could relate. Madison wasn't acting anything like the girl I remembered.

"Okay then." Madison turned to me. "Taylor. It took me a while to realize how terrible we were really being to you. Once that happened, it was obvious that you could have destroyed all of us if you'd wanted to. Since you didn't, I figured you just wanted to forget that any of it had ever happened, and I did my best to respect that. But, well, here we are now. There's things we probably need to talk about. But not right now, because you're already asking me a different question. Okay?"

"Yeah. I get it."

Madison nodded, but then suddenly looked nervous, like she'd realized that she'd painted herself into a corner. "Ah, has Sophia told you about her part-time job?"

"She knows I'm Shadow Stalker, Mads."

"Oh thank god. I don't know how I'd explain this otherwise." Madison took a deep breath. "It pretty much started the summer before we all started at Winslow. Emma and her dad were driving home from something, got lost, and a group of ABB ambushed them. They were going to rape her."

Shit. "I imagine that didn't work out well for them in the long term." Lung had been known to take a dim view of that sort of thing even -before- his daughter was born.

"Lung might have barbecued a few guys," Madison said offhandedly. "I can't be sure it was them, but the timing fits. Anyway. Shadow Stalker was there. Watching. To see if Emma was 'worth' saving. And Emma fought back, so she was."

Sophia shrank down in her seat. I could tell that she had a good idea what was coming next, and she wasn't happy about it.

"At that point, Emma wasn't too badly off. It was a traumatic experience, but she could have gotten over it. She'd have told you about it, Taylor, and you would have helped her. Unfortunately, this one-" Madison pointed at Sophia,"-got to her first. Filled Emma up with her twisted philosophies about strength and weakness, taught her to build herself up by tearing down her old life. Her old friends. You broke her, made her dependent on you."

<BA: Data. Elaboration>

I cringed. That explained a lot of things about this whole mess.

Madison was still talking. "If it'd just been you having been put in a different school, it might have been different. But neither of us heard from you again. And then Maul came onto the scene, and it was obvious you'd found a new hobby. No need to hang out with poor little Emma anymore, right? So you dropped her. And she shattered. She's told me about her nightmares, you know? Sometimes you just kill her. Sometimes it's you raping her instead. But the worst are the ones where you just stand there and watch. She always wakes up screaming from those." She paused for a moment. "Fuck, I shouldn't have said all that. I mean, it's all true, but I wasn't saying it because it was true, I was saying it to hurt you. Kath will be disappointed in me."

"Kath?" Sophia asked.

"Katherine's the therapist Emma and I have been seeing. Originally it was just Emma, but when she learned that Emma had been opening up more to me, she suggested I sit in on a session as an experiment. And it helped, but we also learned that I needed it too. You might have noticed I have some anger issues."

"That's putting it mildly," Sophia muttered.

It was about that time that I decided to stick my oar back in. "There might be some mitigating circumstances."

Madison looked incredulous. "Seriously?"

I nodded. "I can't tell you the details, but Sophia doesn't really bear full responsibility for how she behaved during that period."

"Huh. If anyone else said that, I'd tell them where they could stick it, but from you I'll accept it."

Sophia in the meantime just looked horrified at the idea, but didn't seem to want to press me on it, which I was just as happy about. Even if Sophia were cleared for the information, Madison definitely wasn't, and I really didn't want to try explaining that Phase Shifter had gone all in on the "mental and emotional manipulation to encourage power use" thing until Broadcast Administrator had convinced it to try going the mentally stable host route. I didn't think either of them would take it well.

"Anyway. That's pretty much where we are right now. Taylor, I think Emma wants to apologize to you, but she's afraid to even approach you at this point. It's pretty much up to you what happens there. I don't think any of us have the right to ask anything of you at this point. Sophia, I'd like to say I'd break you in half if you came near Emma again, but I think we both know it wouldn't go that way. But if you care about her at all... just don't. She's not ready to see you again. She might never -be- ready to see you again."

"Yeah. I understand." Sophia turned to me. "Taylor, I'll meet you back at the PRT building, okay? I need to get some fresh air." I nodded, and she exited the booth, leaving me alone with Madison.

There was something else I'd picked up on during the conversation, not just in what Madison said, but in the way she said it. I wondered if Sophia had picked up on it. "You're in love with Emma, aren't you?"

"Yeah..." Madison turned away. "We'd had some fun before, but it was never serious, you know? But when all this happened... Well, she really needed me. I'm not sure that's actually a good basis for a relationship, but supposedly it's a good sign that I'm worried about it at all."

"I'm glad she has you then," I replied, and was shocked to realize that I meant it. It was one thing for me to forgive Sophia. She'd hurt me physically, but what Emma had done to me cut deeper than any physical assault could.

But there was still a part of me, formed from years of friendship, that refused to be silenced even now. And it wanted the girl who had once been as close to me as a sister to _be okay_.

"I think I'll have to get back to you on that talk. Today's not really a good day for me."

If Madison noticed me tearing up, she kept it to herself. "Yeah. See you around, Taylor," she said before exiting the booth, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

***

"... and so what you're saying is, I can't take revenge on any of them for it," Uncle Jacob said.

"Please don't," I replied. "Sophia almost literally wasn't herself when it happened. It's probably a miracle she didn't turn out -worse-. alsoshe'sreallygoodinbed." A bark of laughter informed me that I hadn't been as quiet about that last part as I thought. "Emma... I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forgive her, but she's already had enough happen to her. Madison wasn't ever really as bad. And at least she's been trying to pick up the pieces once she realized how bad things really were."

"... Not even a little revenge?"

"Uncle Jacob!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twist of Hate - This is a takeoff of the phrase "twist of fate".
> 
> The short version is, -you- happened to Emma. - This chapter pretty much exists entirely because of this line coming to me while I was at work. I hadn't been planning to go into detail on the rest of the trio before that.
> 
> this one got to her first (...) You broke her - Here I was trying to show that Madison has gotten upset enough that she's gone from talking to Taylor, to talking to Sophia, to just about forgetting that anyone but Sophia was even there.


	19. 5:1 A Vision in Visions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (After chapter 97 (and the previous Amy/Taylor/Vicky related snips))

There were times that I still felt weird about the way my power switches affected both my power urges and my sexual urges. But it helped that I controlled the switches, and I'd mostly gotten used to it.

My therapist had recently thrown in a new wrinkle, recommending that I indulge -all- of my various sets of urges on at least a semi-regular basis. Most of those were pretty easy, but I had one set of desires that was simply not compatible with most of my usual partners. But that was okay.

A school visit always produced plenty of volunteers willing to spend some time adoring me. And today... today looked like it was going to be really special.

There were two boys double penetrating me, and a girl I was eating out. I wasn't neglecting any of them.

Maybe a couple dozen more, boys and girls alike, were waiting for their turns. I wouldn't neglect any of them.

But the real focus of my attention was one petite girl with black hair in two ponytails that hung over her shoulders. She hadn't said anything, hadn't tried to touch me (not that this would have gotten her any complaints). She'd just smiled softly, perched herself on a nearby desk, pulled her skirt up, and started gently fingering herself.

When our eyes met, it felt like we shared a moment of almost telepathic understanding.

_Watch me. (I'm watching you.)_

_Watch me watching you. (I'm watching you watch me.)_

_I want to see everything. (I'll show you everything.)_

_I'm watching you. (Please watch me.)_

As I got closer to the edge, I could see her speeding up. And when I came (watching her watch me cum), she came too (watching me watch her cum).

While two other girls took turns fingering me and letting me lick the semen off their fingers, she'd periodically stop and lick her own fingers clean. Though they didn't stay clean for very long.

Over the course of the afternoon I was kissed, licked, caressed, fucked, fingered, rode, and all in all pleasured over and over, and I gave as good as I got. I came again and again, and every time she was right there, cumming with me.

Everyone was watching me, and I loved it. But only one person was watching me watch them. And I loved that even more.

Finally, everyone in the room was, if not tired out, at least satiated.

Well, all but two of us.

I reached out. _You've watched me (watch you) from a distance. Would you watch me (touch you) from up close?_

I could hardly breathe as she stood up, walked over, and took my hand.

_Watch us. (Watch us.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just give Vicky a new girlfriend? I think I may have just given Vicky a new girlfriend.
> 
> Vicky's new girlfriend is Emily Niner from Time Hollow. I have no idea how to properly describe her hairstyle. Which kind of snuck up on me? When I started writing I could see her face in my head, but wasn't sure who it was. Maybe from $work? No, pretty sure not that. Am I subconsciously trying to SI myself again? No, right hair color but none of my alter egos have that kind of twintails. $other_work? No... And then shortly before I got to the end, I realized it was Emily Niner. Hi Emily!
> 
> ... Maybe it should have been a clue that I was thinking of naming her "Emily" already, but kept rejecting it as too similar to "Emma". (I'm not sure "avoid giving different characters similar sounding names" is a rational impulse, but it's definitely one that I have.)
> 
> As mentioned in the "Things you desperately want more of in porn" thread on QQ, this is one of only two proper (by my standards) mixed gender gangbangs I'm aware of... and the other one is a story idea I haven't written yet.
> 
> For that matter, I've also never seen porn with Emily Niner either. Despite Ashley/Emily being so obvious I can't even.


	20. 5:2 Uncommon Stimulation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 59, Maul fires the railgun)

Despite knowing on an instinctual level that the gun wasn’t loaded anymore, Taylor very carefully switched from ‘armed’ to ‘safe’ anyway. And then lay there on the bench for a couple of minutes. Given that everyone else was being silent as well she figured it was a ‘state of shock’ moment for them. Which meant it was probably not a good idea to go back looking like she'd just had an orgy with the entire Protectorate. She'd just pretend she was also in a state of shock for the moment.

It took her nearly five minutes to get the grin off of her face, after which she got off of the bench and replaced the control back in the holder she found it in, then the ear muffs on the hook they had been sitting on. After getting some wipes from her utility belt to clean up the bench, and putting on a clean pair of panties, she walked back to the main structure, noting that everyone was still staring at where the drones _had_ been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably the first idea I actually had for this series. In fact, I'm pretty sure I thought of "What if Taylor had an orgasm from firing the railgun?" well before I even started thinking about writing this. Though not necessarily before I started shipping Maul/Tattletale.
> 
> Then again, I ship everyone with Tattletale.


	21. 5:3 Indirect Stimulation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 59, Maul fires the railgun)  
> (Non-canon to Mauling HnSW - what if the incident with Leet took place before Maul's Barrage Blaster testing?)

I came.

There was no buildup to it, no warning. One moment I was waiting for Taylor to fire the railgun, the next moment I was squirting all over the roof of the Rig and collapsing into Vicky's arms.

_Amy: What the hell was THAT?!_

<BA: Satisfaction>

_Taylor: Crap. I'm not going to be able to hide how good that felt from anyone, am I?_

_Amy: Only from people who didn't see me spontaneously orgasming._

_Amy: By the way, everyone saw me spontaneously orgasming._

_Taylor: Crap._

Predictably, no one was fooled by Taylor's pause to regain her composure. Especially since -I- hadn't quite managed to get the "fucked silly" look off my face by the time she came back up. But at least no one went further than giving her a few knowing looks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo tempted to make this canon.


	22. 5:4 When All You Have is an Earth-Shattering Kaboom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 124, Maul looking over Countdown's loadout)

Taylor looked it over. “Yeah, that’s metal to sand.” She was making note of that trunk design, though, given how dangerous the one example she had was. Shaking her head, she moved to the next bandolier while Vivian slid that grenade into the slot on the first one. “Another ice wall, insta-melt, two more standard containment foam, short range EMP, orgasm?”

"What?" Vivian looked at the grenade. "Damn, that's supposed to be area of effect electrocution. Good thing you caught that, I'd have really been in trouble if I'd pulled that one out on patrol. I need to come up with a better way to separate my fun grenades and my _fun_ grenades..."

Wait, did she think she'd get in more trouble for pulling out the orgasm grenade than the -black hole- one?

... And did the black hole fall under fun or _fun_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was trying to think of some Power Perversion Potential for other characters. And immediately realized that Tinkers would be tricky, since I don't want to step on Sora's toes too much. But I couldn't see Countdown not making an orgasm bomb.
> 
> I've also got an idea for Othala, but I'm not sure how to make a story out of it.


	23. 6:1 A Mix of Pleasure and Null Pointer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Programming note: The "Emily" here is Emily Theil, aka Rune.)  
> (Not tied to any specific point in MS, but probably sometime after chapter 56 and the group from the E88 defecting.)

Emily moaned and cried out, "More! Harder!"

Nadine wasn't quite sure she had any 'harder' left in her, but she did her best, bringing the flogger down on her cousin's bare skin again and again as hard as she could. Her strikes were relentless, but not merciless.

After all, she had no intention of dropping the invincibility she was maintaining on her cousin until they were finished here. And so Emily did not cry out in pain. Her skin failed to redden or mark.

Nadine had -no- idea what the other girl got out of this. But when her cute cousin made such a simple request of her, how could she refuse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple decades ago, I had a RP character with a form of regeneration that granted her incredible durability - like Alexandria level durability at least. (This was not unbalanced, since the RP did not involve combat.) At one point, I decided that her sense of pain adjusted to match that durability - if it wasn't approaching the threshold of 'actually capable of causing injury', there would be no pain.
> 
> Some time after that I started wondering what certain things would feel like if pain was completely removed from the equation. I suppose that makes me an anti-masochist? Wait, that sounds off somehow.
> 
> I was reminded of this while trying to come up with more sexual applications for different powers, like I mentioned at the end of snips 5. There's no particular reason for Rune being here, other than her being someone with a good enough relationship with Othala that she'd be willing to do it.


	24. 6:2 Delayed Gratification

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Not tied to any specific point in MS, but while String Theory is not in the Birdcage.)

There was a timer inside Kara's head.

She set it to exactly one hour.

***

_01:00:00_  
00:59:59  
00:59:58 

Trimming her nails. Two minutes.

Writing up a grocery list. Three minutes.

Telling people on the internet that they were wrong. Thirty-eight minutes.

Scrubbing the toilet. Five minutes.

Pretending she was actually going to do the laundry today. One minute.

Commiserating with other people on the internet about how wrong the first group of people on the internet were. Four minutes.

Reading the latest Dragon-Tech catalog. Six minutes.

_00:01:00_

Watching porn. Fifty-nine seconds.

_00:00:01_

Rubbing her clitoris. One second.

_00:00:00_

Climaxing. Three minutes.

***

Whew. That had been a good one.

Kara had heard that there were people who tried to do what she did by watching porn and masturbating for an entire hour. She didn't get it. How are you supposed to let a really good orgasm build up if you kept poking it with a stick?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has -anyone- else done String Theory porn? I can't seriously be the only one who thinks her picture on the wiki is pretty hot...


	25. 6:3 Always Double-Check the Settings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sometime after chapter 179, Kara gets a chance to do some tinkering.)

Kara was bored, horny, and had just been allowed access to a workshop after just a bit too long spent not tinkering.

As any parahuman psychologist can tell you, this is a dangerous combination.

***

When she came to, she found she had made... a bracelet? It had a timer (of course). A switch with positions labeled LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, and FUCK ME. And a big red button.

Oh, what the hell. She put the bracelet on, set the timer to one minute (she was all for delayed gratification, but there were limits), and pushed the button.

The switch was, of course, set on FUCK ME.

***

A minute and a half later, and Kara was grinning wider than she ever had before. Her entire body was soaked with sweat and her own juices, and she'd nearly vibrated herself right out of her chair.

"Oh FUUUUCK ME!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Non-brutes or persons with heart problems should not set the device to a delay longer than five minutes.
> 
> I said I didn't want to step on Sora's toes, but it's hard to feel like I'm serious about it when I keep writing other Tinkers making sex stuff. Okay, so it's only two, but... yeah. (And then I came up with another String Theory idea that I decided to put first, but... yeah.)
> 
> LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, and FUCK ME. - With a tip of the hat to Ack's It Gets Worse. (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11651073/19/It-Gets-Worse) So far I've resisted the urge to label one of Missy and Taylor's toys in MtSA like this (it may still happen*), but I couldn't stop myself when I was writing something that's actually about String Theory.
> 
> *I came up with a joke I like about it, therefore it's definitely happening. (Since this note was written, it has happened.)


	26. 6:4 Support

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sometime well after Amy gets her greenhouse.)

Recently, Amy had become inspired by climbing vines. No one vine was tremendously strong on it's own, but together they could form strong structures.

Not that her current creation resembled a vine much anymore. In certain respects it was far more animal than plant now, the broad leaves and the stems connecting them laced with something more like a human's slow-twitch muscle fibers than anything a plant had ever had. Even with the tweaks she'd made to it's photosynthesis, the plant couldn't do much more than keep itself alive; actually operating it required either a long delay or feeding it a significant quantity of sugar water.

At the moment, only she or Taylor could operate it. It already had response sequences programmed in, but the only way to activate them was via Shaper. If today's test was successful, the next step would be fixing that.

Amy stepped out onto the mass and triggered the startup sequence, and the vines went into motion.

One set reached out to the walls of her greenhouse, forming a supporting framework.

One set wrapped around her body. Only the leaves came into contact with her skin, for better support. They had a smooth texture that was very comfortable to the touch.

And the last set tied the first two together.

She did a few basic motion tests. First moving her arms and legs by themselves. Then walking. She even did a few jumping jacks. The vines were smooth and responsive, playing out and reeling themselves in as needed however she moved. There were limits on how quickly she could turn around without having to reset, but overall the results were promising.

Next test. She started walking upwards. Just like climbing a ladder, except without the ladder. Just the vines, responding to her motions by supporting or yielding as necessary.

After she got a few feet up, she sat down. It was like the most comfortable chair ever. She leaned back. Kicked her legs up in the air. Leaned back some more.

_Amy: I'm doing a headstand in the air and it is awesome._

_Taylor: Nice! Sounds like you've almost got this one down._

_Amy: Still needs a lot of work before other people can use it._

_Taylor: I stand by what I said._

_Taylor: I'll have to come over and help you stress test it later._

_Amy: Sounds good._

Amy wasn't sure she was quite as close to finished as Taylor thought, but she was feeling optimistic. And if they managed to get this approved for sale... Wow.

They'd make all the sex furniture in the world obsolete -overnight-.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it seems like all you ever see tentacles used for is going into holes. Seriously, how many people saw "vines" and immediately thought they would be going into holes?
> 
> Hardly anyone really seems to think very hard about the position control aspect. Having ones that could hold you in whatever position you want, let you move to whatever other position you want at any time, and provide constant comfortable support? That opens up a ton of possibilities.
> 
> Huh, I could have almost had an all-tinker update. At least Amy's doing something I'm not sure Sora could.


	27. 7:1 Yourself in the Mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sometime after chapter 134, the fate of the Travelers is revealed)

It was amazing how much time PHO collectively spent on speculating about the sex lives of various parahumans. Like the speculation about everything else, sometimes they got it right, and sometimes they got it very, very wrong.

Take the threads arguing about who had slept with the most heroes and/or villains. No one ever suggested me, even though I could probably top them all.

At least, if it wasn't cheating for nearly every one of them to be your own projection. I'm sure some people would say that was fine.

It didn't matter to me either way. Even if my real body was always asleep and I was looking at things through my projection's eyes, I could still see everything in the mirror, or watch the video afterwards.

Most times I didn't try for anyone specific. Instead, like now, I'd just lay back, let my desire flow through me, and see what happened.

***

If there was one word that described what I felt when I looked in the mirror, it was 'familiarity'.

I'd run my hands through this hair before, kissed these lips, felt this body against mine.

Even though I'd never projected this form before.

I'd had the real thing.

"Marissa..."

**%//#%**

I didn't always wake up completely satisfied after one of these sessions.

But this was the first time I'd woken up crying.

I knew why the group had split up. I'd agreed with it. The tensions between us since Noelle died were just too much.

But I missed them. Cody, Luke, Marissa... even Francis. I missed them all.

If I tried again, would I even be able to come up with anything but the faces of those I'd left behind? Those I'd lost? (I nearly threw up when I imagined projecting Noelle.)

Why did it have to end like this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Q: What can Jess do with her power for sexual purposes?  
> A: Obvious answer: Tentacles!  
> Q: That's stereotypical, and thus boring. Come up with something else.  
> A: Angst!  
> Q: Fuck.  
> A: That's not a question!  
> Q: Fuck you?  
> A: Fuck.
> 
> If there's two things that make me sad in Mauling Snarks, the second one is the Travelers breaking up. I really like a good Travelers friendship story.


	28. 7:2 Better Living Through Science

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 9 - Taylor meets with Glenn)

After that was the last picture which looked like, well, a punk of sorts? Simple in that it was basically a (very) short skirt and a dark leather jacket, combat boots on the feet and gloves on the hands, and a black visor over the eyes. Hair in high pigtails instead of a covering helmet. For some reason she liked it. Having her legs uncovered wasn't really ideal, but was pretty much inevitable if she wanted to actually use her powers, and with her enhancements she shouldn't be in serious danger from any normal leg wound anyway.

***

Taylor's new costume had turned out to be pretty much as she expected, and she was quite satisfied with it.

She'd had to look a bit askance at the panties though. The material wasn't actually translucent, but it looked like it -wanted- to be somehow, and it felt strangely slippery in places.

Her doubts lasted until she put them on.

"These are the most comfortable panties I've ever worn," she'd announced immediately upon leaving the locker room.

Glenn chuckled. "I hear that a lot. Tinker-made fabric, with automatic adjustment of insulativity, breatheability, and a few other things for maximum comfort, and they can even provide heat if you're in a cold enough environment. That uses more power, but with Brockton Bay's climate you shouldn't have to worry about that as long as you use a regular hot-air dryer every time you wash them. Pretty standard for female parahumans who have leg coverage limitations."

"I want to replace all my underwear with these now."

"I hear that a lot too." Glenn paused for a moment. "They're pretty expensive for what they are, but I've heard you've already got some information payouts coming, so you could probably get started on that right away if you wanted. I'll send you a link to the PRT store page for them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hands up, everyone who'd misread that part of chapter 9 and kept thinking Maul was wearing a skirt all along unless a specific scene said otherwise?
> 
> Just me? Damn.
> 
> In this continuity Taylor doesn't get extra costume budget because Shadow Stalker's bullying wasn't exposed. But in this setting all the costume budgets are more dynamic because they can't pack the armor on everywhere they'd like to, so they do it where they can. So Maul gets roughly the same amount of protection anyway.
> 
> Artificial brutes are an even bigger deal here than in MS canon, since even light armor just isn't an option for some people. So there are probably far more parahumans trying to get in on the tinker fugues... and far more complaints from same.
> 
> Tinkertech panties are my answer to the obvious question "wouldn't they get cold"? Also, it gives me an excuse to say "tinkertech panties".
> 
> The PRT here has access to the sort of "quick release" clothing used in Naked Sex World, but it is generally considered a tool for special circumstances only - in most cases it's considered more important to allow parahumans to respond quickly with their own abilities, even for Wards. Maul does have a pair of quick-release leggings available for things like motorcycle patrols.


	29. 7:3 You're Impossible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sometime after chapter 67, implications of Amy and Taylor's link start to sink in)

_Taylor: Shaper, can we get a way to turn off seeing each other's biology?_

<S: Objection>

_Taylor: Yes, I know that was the point of the entire exercise._

<S: Query>

_Taylor: We'd just rather not know all those things about each other all the time._

<S: Uncertainty>

_Amy: Also, as things are it will probably reduce the amount of sex we have, since we're not always interested at the same time or in the same people._

<S: Alarm>

_Taylor: I can't believe that was the argument that worked._

_Amy: I can._

<S: ...Query>

<BA: Data>

<S: Contemplation>

Amy and Taylor both noticed a new switch had appeared in their heads. It was currently set on "medium".

<S: Data>

_Taylor: So if either of us flips this one, it changes the level of awareness for both of us?_

<S: Agreement. Query>

_Amy: Yes, we'll try things with it on "high" a few times too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the linked biology thing first happened, people pointing out that it'd be awkward for either Amy or Taylor to be in a relationship with someone else because of it has become a regular event.
> 
> Personally I think the only reason they don't have a switch like this already is because neither has thought of asking for it. In a setting where both are regularly sexually active already, however, the matter becomes more pressing. Even if sense sharing would probably be fun some of the time, it'd get old having it all of the time.
> 
> Though it's not exactly sense sharing, is it? It's a little vague exactly how some parts of it work. "High" is sense sharing though...
> 
> You're Impossible - First you want remote diagnosis, and now you want to turn it off? I swear, you two are like cats.


	30. 8:1 Playing with Your Food

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 94)

_Lisa: Did you tell my power about augmented reality being tested?_

_Amy: Yes, she did._

_Lisa: Damn you. Now I’m too curious to not come look._

_Taylor: Sorry, but it asked if anything interesting was going on. What did you want me to do, lie?_

_Lisa: No, not really._

_Taylor: Please check on Missy when you pass by the ice cream parlor. I think she got lost in a sundae or something._

A few minutes later Taylor noticed she'd gotten a text from Missy.

**V: Dammit, Taylor!**

**M: What?**

**V: Lisa passed on your "lost in a sundae" quip and now I can't stop imagining expanding one and swimming in it.**

**V: But it'd be cold and then people would yell at me for wasting food.**

**M: Maybe a hot fudge sundae?**

**V: ...**

**V: Don't tell me things like that right before it's time for me to go on patrol!**

**M: Sorry.**

**V: Just for that, I'm not sending you any pictures.**

**M: :-(**

**V: ...Okay, maybe a few pictures.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I accidentally gave Vista a new fetish.
> 
> Or two.


	31. 8:2 No Such Thing as Useless Tinkertech

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 96, Amy and Taylor are looking at things to repair)

"Oh. What about the belt next to them?"

"Manton-limited invisibility belt."

"What?"

"It makes anything you’re carrying or wearing invisible to others, but not you."

"As in you can see them just fine?"

"Well, yes, that too. ... Think Aisha would like it?"

"I suppose it would be useful for cold weather... assuming you actually want to encourage her exhibitionism."

"I prefer to think of it as making her safer when she does what she's going to do anyway. ... And I want to see what it looks like."

"Huh. Think that's what the original tinker made it for?"

"I'd think making things also invisible to the wearer would be better for that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clear sex toys exist, but invisible ones would be way more impressive, right? If only it weren't for the 'you can see them' part...


	32. 8:3 Classical Literature FTW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Shortly before chapter 122, Taylor is staying over with the Dallons after the kidnapping)

Vicky stood in the store, contemplating the air horn. It had a certain ironic appeal to it, but... no. It just seemed like too much, after what had happened to Taylor.

But she had to do something...

***

Friday morning Taylor and Amy were woken by Vicky, by way of the older girl sitting down next to the bed they were sharing and leaning on it, resting her head on her arms.

Amy was the first to open her eyes. "Nggh... Vicky?"

"Good morning sleepyheads," Vicky whispered, smiling fondly. As the other two finished their morning groaning and stretching, she added, "It's nice waking up calmly and quietly, isn't it?"

She got up and started for the door, but paused. Her voice took on a bit of an edge. "I miss waking up like that."

She resumed walking, adding just before leaving the room "So... I won't be having sex with either of you as long as I keep getting woken up by raucous noises."

<BA: Alarm><S: Alarm><IP: Alarm>[Alarm]

Now fully awake, Amy and Taylor stared at each other in shock.

_Taylor: I'm starting to regret my life choices._

_Amy: Sorry Carol, Mark... some prices are just too high._

***

Vicky stared at the hollow that was revealed when Amy pulled her mattress back. "I never knew there was an opening there." She paused. "Wait, why is there an opening there? It's just going to be covered up anyway."

"Probably for people who don't have that end of their bed up against a wall," Taylor observed from where she was leaning against the doorframe, a bag of other noisemakers in her hand. They weren't willing to take the chance that Vicky would take any further speaker-related pranks badly.

... From the way Vicky's eyes had gone wide when she saw the bag, she might already be taking it badly.

It didn't really help when she looked back and saw that Amy had pulled two more speakers out of somewhere. "what... what were you going to -do- to me?"

Amy sighed as she sat down on the bed. "I was getting tired of waking you up all the time, so I decided to prank you a bit with the siren clip. I thought you'd find it pretty quickly..."

Taylor took up the story. "But when you hadn't after a couple weeks, I gave Amy the idea of throwing in some insect noises. And after I heard what she'd done with the crickets, I suggested throwing in some point projection speakers... to make them harder to find."

"About a month after it all started, Mark was in there and figured out what I was doing. He and Carol decided we should expand things, as a way to try and get you to pay more attention to what's around you." Amy frowned. "Though that'd actually be harder for you than it would be for anyone else, wouldn't it? Since your snark -wants- you to let things hit you."

"They put in the extra speakers on my birthday, but decided not to start using them until after exams. And, well, then the kidnapping thing happened. I hadn't even been here for long before I started helping Carol with ideas to make things worse though."

Vicky had been growing paler and paler as the two talked. "Why?" she asked. "Why do all of that?" _What did I ever do to you?_ was left unsaid, but they could all hear it. Vicky knew exactly what she'd done to Taylor. But she'd thought Taylor had forgiven her.

Especially since -Taylor- had thought that she'd forgiven Vicky.

<BA: Apologies>

_Taylor: No._

"Broadcast Administrator says it's been trying to nudge us into messing with you, since it still doesn't like your snark. I'm not accepting that excuse though. Even if we started off on the wrong foot, I thought of us as friends. I shouldn't have been goading everyone like that just because I thought it was -funny-." Taylor knew she had urges to prank parahumans, and was generally comfortable with that... but she wasn't this rough on actual -gang members-.

"And that goes even more for me," Amy noted. "You're my sister, and I love you. If I was tired of waking you up I should have just told you to get an alarm clock now that you wouldn't break them all the time, not... this."

Vicky looked between the two a few times before she practically threw herself at Amy and started sobbing into her chest.

Taylor sat down next to them and put an arm over Vicky's shoulders as best she could. It seemed to help a bit... but Vicky didn't stop crying.

With Vicky's natural vivaciousness, this probably wouldn't keep her down for too long... Taylor just hoped it wouldn't permanently damage her ability to trust any of them.

_Taylor: And stay out of our relationship with Vicky from now on._

<BA: ...Acceptance>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first, this was going to be a very jokey snip, and some elements of that still remain at the beginning...
> 
> But then I started looking up references for the speaker stuff, and... Well, there are parts of Mauling Snarks I don't entirely like, but very little that really rings false to me. I do, however, think CmptrWz seriously underestimates how hurtful this "prank" would actually be.
> 
> A lot of Amy and Taylor's interactions with Vicky seem to have a bit of an edge to them, even after Vicky's been nominally forgiven for the punching, so I tried to explore that a bit too, since in this setting they're supposed to be closer in part due to having snark drives that counter the dislike aspect.
> 
> Also I really wanna slap Carol when in chapter 104 she thinks it's fine because Vicky hasn't asked for them to stop. You're the adult here! You should be watching out for someone under your care wanting something to stop, but not feeling like they can ask! And the air horn, that's not escalation, that's a cry for help.
> 
> Classical Literature - Specifically, Lysistrata.
> 
> Since your snark -wants- you to let things hit you. - As far as I can tell, this explanation for Vicky's watching-for-possible-attacks problems is not even considered in canon.
> 
> Taylor: No. - Taylor's refusal to lay the blame solely on BA played a big part in my figuring out how I wanted to end this.
> 
> Even if we started off on the wrong foot, I thought of us as friends. - I hope it came across that while Vicky's Lysistrata Gambit was what got everyone's attention, that's not really the most important thing for Amy and Taylor past the initial shock. (Their -snarks- only really care about that part, but that's different.)
> 
> get an alarm clock now that you wouldn't break them all the time - My guess as to why Amy waking up Vicky was a thing in the first place.


	33. PHO Interlude

**Mauling Half-Naked Sex World - PHO Interlude**

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**♦ Topic: How Capes Do It - Brockton Bay Edition  
**  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay ► NSFW  
Foo (Original Poster) (Verified Metasyntactic Variable)  
Posted On Mar 10th 2011:  
Because somehow, we don't have a local version of this already.

As always, the management takes no responsibility for anything that might happen as a result of annoying villains by speculating about their sex lives. Be cool, and stay safe.

Armsmaster does it efficiently.

 

**(Showing page 70 of 78)**

 

**►ItsAlsoASword** (Verified Cape)  
Replied On Jun 27th 2011:  
@IdleSinger: Hey, that's not how these threads work. That's literally what Glory Girl does. There's even threads about her latest orgies here and here. You've got to make -some- kind of joke.

**►IdleSinger**  
Replied On Jun 27th 2011:  
Whoops. Sorry!

**►BunnyHat**  
Replied On Jun 29th 2011:  
Grue doesn't do it in the dark. Who knew?

**►NextListener**  
Replied On Jun 29th 2011:  
I can't decide whether that's clever or not.

Vista does it in space warped by someone...

**►PurpleStreak** (Unverified Cape)  
Replied On Jun 29th 2011:  
Should I give you a nod for the classic gaming reference, or just wait for @ItsAlsoASword to yell at you for excessive literality?

Hulder does it inside your walls, but you'll never know it.

**►ItsAlsoASword** (Verified Cape)  
Replied On Jun 30th 2011:  
@NextListener, @PurpleStreak: No one's ever actually seen Vista doing that, so I won't yell... this time.

I don't know if I should yell about the Hulder one, because... how would we know?

**►WintersRadiance** (Moderator)  
Replied On Jun 30th 2011:  
@ItsAlsoASword: Don't yell at anyone.

You haven't crossed the line yet in your bizarre ongoing quest to remind people of the informal rules for the "How Capes Do It" threads, so this isn't a formal warning. But you've been getting closer, so watch it.

**►LittleTwoWings** (tee hee hee hee)  
Replied On Jul 3rd 2011:  
Miss Militia does it with a different toy every night!

**►Datbird**  
Replied On Jul 3rd 2011:  
Can she project anything that's not a weapon?

**►LittleTwoWings** (tee hee hee hee)  
Replied On Jul 3rd 2011:  
Read about Wrench Wraith beaning Skidmark with a butt plug here.

Sex toys are perfectly suitable throwing weapons!

 

**End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 ... 76, 77, 78**

■

Hannah frowned. Could it really be -that- easy?

She concentrated, and a butt plug formed in her hand.

She didn't throw it at anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've seen several fanfics allow Miss Militia to project fancy sex toys by having them qualify as weapons somehow. To which I say FUCK NO.
> 
> But having her able to project various simple objects including sex toys, similar to how Shirou is able to trace basic tools in The Hill of Swords, that's a different matter.
> 
> Anything fancy she wants, that's what Outfitter is for.
> 
> Usernames (but not personalities) are mostly based on various anime and manga characters.
> 
> Ao3 doesn't support the indent tag, so some things aren't quite the way they're supposed to be. I'm not really sure how to fix that.


	34. 9:1 Surface Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 155, Missy gets tinker fugue upgrades)

When Chris and I got to the pool, it turned out we had it all to ourselves. I wasn't sure if I should be surprised, given how large the hotel was, or unsurprised, because it was the middle of a weekday. Either way I appreciated the quiet.

It was probably just as well that I hadn't been able to go to the gun range with Amy and Taylor after all. I had things to think about.

I'd done some actual swimming once we'd gotten here, but much as I hadn't wanted to admit it, I really was feeling pretty worn out. So now I was just floating on my back with my eyes closed, absentmindedly running a hand over the places where my scars weren't.

Smooth.

It was probably the least of the things they'd done to my body. But everything else was internal, designed to be non-obvious, and felt startlingly natural. (Even the Bluetooth. The weird thing there was how normal it already felt.) Compared to that, losing my scars was obviously external and felt very different. Even though they were technically a minor thing. Amy had fixed the remaining internal damage long ago and could have gotten rid of the exterior marks any time. But I'd always refused.

Maybe a part of me had known it was silly from the beginning. I'd clung to my scars, thought them a sign that despite my youth, I was still strong, tough, worthy of respect. But at the same time I'd done my best to hide them from everyone.

Well, at least until I ran into what one of the therapists called "the typical curve for parahumans who trigger at extremely young ages". A fancy way of saying I went from knowing approximately what sex was to barely caring about anything else (and certainly not about hiding scars) nearly overnight. Thankfully, that period didn't last very long, but by the end all my fellow Wards (and a number of other people) knew all about my scars. Though my parents had managed to remain clueless until mom caught me last week.

They hadn't gotten me disgust, but they hadn't gotten me respect either.

And now they were all gone.

Smooth.

I didn't think I was going to miss them. What use were those tokens of fights that were, to be honest, usually the ones I'd -lost- to me now? I had actual respect now. From my teammates. Even Shadow Stalker, though admittedly she hadn't shown much respect for anyone until relatively recently. From the PRT. Just getting the enhancements I'd gotten was a sign that I was trusted with, if not the deepest secrets the organization had, what were probably the ones that would cause the most public uproar if revealed. So what if some people still saw me as the runt of the group? That just didn't seem as important to me anymore.

But it was still going to take some getting used to.

Smooth.

"Um, Missy?" Chris called out.

That's when I realized that I'd been fondling my chest with one hand for some time now, and the other had been creeping slowly inside the waistband of my swimsuit.

Well, it was a hotel pool. It should have filters that could handle a lot worse than a little me.

And my skin felt so very smooth.

"Chris?" I asked. "What did you think about my scars?"

He took a little while to think about it, while I kept feeling myself up. I hadn't really intended to start masturbating here, but having found myself going that way already already...

Finally, he replied. "I don't think any of us were ever really sure. They obviously meant something to you, since you still had them after that time Panacea healed you. But it seemed like it was private, so I didn't push."

So that was it, huh. It made me feel a bit more foolish about the way I'd thought in the past, but maybe it was something I needed to hear anyway.

I opened my eyes and looked over at Chris. It was pretty obvious from the state of his swim trunks that he'd been paying attention to my actions as well as my words.

Since I was in the shallow end of the pool, I pretty much just stood up.

I didn't bother rearranging my swimsuit. "Want to get a closer look?"

He did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon kind of underplays the thing with the scars, though I imagine if Missy had gotten an interlude this would have gotten explored. Her having asked Amy not to get rid of them suggests something of real significance to her that deserves some serious introspection after they're gone.
> 
> Or at least semi-serious introspection.
> 
> the typical curve - Parahumans who trigger before experiencing sexual desire don't receive any effects in that direction from their snarks until they start doing so on their own. At that point, their snarks make up for lost time and they spend a variable length of time with significantly over the top sex drives, after which they settle down into typical (for the setting) ranges. (Parahumans who are asexual, have powers or physical mutations that make sex impossible, or a few other edge cases will just never get sex-related snark urges at all.) The PRT is very watchful of Wards who could end up in this state, because there are several known cases of young parahumans accidentally outing themselves or being outed as a result of things they let slip while in it.


	35. 9:2 Up, Up, and Up, Up, Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 106, Aisha patrols for the first time)

"Taylor? Can I go for a ride on your platform?"

Taylor frowned. "Didn't you already ride on it when we patrolled today?"

"No, I mean... can I go for a 'ride' on your platform?"

She just stared at me like I was insane.

I sighed. Clearly this 'subtlety' thing Brian kept going on about was not all it was cracked up to be. "I want to have sex on your platform, okay!"

"How do you suggest we do that? Since you can't open your costume in public."

I sputtered. "I'll think of something!"

***

Aisha hadn't thought of anything.

I, however, had found and ordered some secure Bluetooth sex toys from the PRT store.

And so here I was, on my platform high above the city, with Aisha in my arms. Exhibitionism... did nothing for me. But Aisha was quivering with delight at being seen by this many people.

Even before I turned the vibrators on.

Of course, the odds that anyone was really watching us were practically nonexistent, but it was the thought that counted. And even if the chance of being seen myself didn't add anything to the experience for me, Aisha's enjoyment was at least as good as the vibrators on my own body were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between how much Aisha likes Taylor's platform in canon, and my making her an exhibitionist here, it was a short jump to get to this. Hulder really got the short end of the stick when it came to costuming, didn't she?
> 
> secure Bluetooth sex toys - I would not be particularly surprised if this were a thing in canon, given that the PRT store also has such things as chocolate, brewing equipment, plants, and pets in it.


	36. 9:3 Path to Clinging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 137, Fortuna talks to Amy and Taylor on the way to TinkerTechCon)

"I've also avoided steering you at things you honestly wouldn't enjoy, despite the amusement value."

"Like what?" Amy asked after a moment.

"Wet t-shirt contests for one," Fortuna answered with a grin.

Taylor couldn't help thinking back to her birthday, when she and Amy had gotten drenched by the failing seals on the kitchen faucet. They'd been too distracted by dealing with that and the drunk adults to think much about it, but...

She looked over and realized that Amy was turning a bit red too.

"Though maybe it'd be different if you'd be allowed to participate," Fortuna continued, her grin now more of a smirk.

"We-we can do that when we're at home!" Amy sputtered.

Taylor facepalmed as Fortuna started laughing.

Though now that she thought about it, she did wonder if Vicky had ever entered a wet t-shirt contest... and whether or not she should suggest it if the other girl hadn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think of it until I actually started writing this, but that would be Vicky's kind of scene, wouldn't it? Though she'd have to turn her aura off to make it fair.
> 
> And Ao3 is now caught up with what I've already posted on QQ.


	37. PHO Interlude 2

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**♦ Topic: Rules for having sex with Glory Girl  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay ► NSFW  
Cairo360 ** (Original Poster)  
Posted On Feb 19th 2011:

**Rule 1: If at all possible, _Have sex with Glory Girl_  
Rule 2: Ensure Panacea is on-hand and willing to help with your exhaustion before any sexing is done  
Rule 3: Do sit on her face**

 

**(Showing page 1 of 23)**

***

Taylor frowned. On the one hand, it seemed in poor taste.

On the other hand, she was having sex with Glory Girl.

Then she got a text from Amy.

**A: Have you seen this thread in Brockton Bay NSFW?**

**T: The 'sex with Glory Girl' one? Yeah. Not really sure how to feel about that.**

**A: I think Cairo360 one of Dennis's throwaway accounts.**

**T: ... Oh really.**

***

"Nope, not me," Dennis replied. "I've been helping it along a little, since I know you want people to calm down, but the original poster is one of the other people who likes to mess around with the rumor mill. Not anyone I've directly worked with though."

"Huh." Taylor wasn't sure what to make of that. Yeah, people liked to talk about cape sex lives, that was a big part of why the NSFW boards were a thing. But something about Cairo360's responses made it feel like it was personal to them. It didn't seem likely that anyone in her circle but Dennis would do something like that though.

Oh well, it wasn't really that important anyway.

***

Aisha laughed as she read some of the latest responses to her thread. Some of these people had really funny ideas. And some of the others...

Well, there was a reason she was reading one-handed.

It wasn't quite enough to let her forget that the whole chain of events had derailed a planned visit by the notoriously exhibitionistic cape to her school, but it helped.

Now, how could she add more fuel to this fire?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It struck me as kind of funny how similar-yet-different the tastes I'd given Aisha and Vicky were. Aisha's definitely on the risk/thrill side of things and doesn't care if she's truly even likely to be seen, where Vicky is the exact opposite. So they might actually not mesh that well together, even if they're both nominally 'exhibitionists'.


	38. The Fan in Fan Fiction

(Takes place shortly before the beginning of Mauling Snarks.)

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■

**♦ Topic: Glory Girl Visits the Glory Hole (Glory Girl/Multi) (Complete)**  
 **In: Boards ► Creative ► User Fiction ► Real Cape Fanfiction ► NSFW**  
 **RicePrincess** (Original Poster) (Verified Non-Royalty)  
Posted On Sep 21st 2010:  
(Click here to expand content)

 

**(Showing page 231 of 231)**

**►Glory Girl** (Verified Cape) (New Wave)   
Replied On Dec 4th 2010:  
Wow, you've really put a lot of work into this. I love it! Can't believe I didn't find this sooner.

It really is out of character for me though. Having sex where my partner and I can't see each other... just sounds wrong, you know?

Really looking forward to your next story!

**►CardCarryingCardCarrier**  
Replied On Dec 4th 2010:  
Protests too much?

**►ChopperFan303** (Verified Helicopter Pilot)  
Replied On Dec 4th 2010:  
Dude, no. GG is like the single cape least likely to do that. If she visited glory holes herself, she'd have a thread about it already. Though she probably wouldn't say where, for the safety of the other patrons.

**►NullPointerMan** (Moderator)   
Replied On Dec 4th 2010:  
Sigh. I can see where this is going, because it's already gone there five times in the last month.

If you want to talk about Glory Girl, glory holes, or the combination thereof in any way that -isn't- about the OP's story, take it to a thread in the appropriate board. (Hint - not this one, unless you plan to write your own fiction about it.)

There -will- be infractions if you all don't quit this. There should probably be infractions already, but I'm being lenient because I know how exciting it is to have the star of a story visiting the thread. Don't make me regret it.

**►CardCarryingCardCarrier**  
Replied On Dec 4th 2010:  
Edit: Strangered by NullPointerMan

I think I'm just going to drop it.

**►RicePrincess** (Original Poster) (Verified Non-Royalty)   
Replied On Dec 4th 2010:  
On the internet, no one can hear you squee, so you'll just have to imagine it!

Sorry, @Glory Girl, I probably could have guessed that, but the whole idea turns me on soooooo much, and...

***

Amy took in the scene with the ease of practiced experience. Vicky, sitting in front of her computer, panties around one ankle. On the screen, Parahumans Online, easily recognizable by the colors and flow of text even if she wasn't close enough to actually read it. The conclusion was obvious.

"Reading fanfic about yourself again?" Amy walked closer so she could see the text onscreen. "And you're masturbating to it despite complaining about it. Sometimes I don't get you at all, Vicky."

"But they put so much effort into it. Doesn't that turn you on at least a bit?"

"... Not really, no. And seriously, saying it's out of character. Isn't it all out of character?" Amy sighed. "Like that story last month where the author thought my love would be the thing to turn around -Alabaster- of all people? Seriously? Who comes up with something like that?"

Vicky smirked. "Oh, so you did read that one."

"You were the one who sent me the link."

"And you told me you hadn't read it."

"I read it after you kept pestering me about it!"

"Sure, sure. And I suppose if I went to look at your computer I wouldn't find a bookmark to a certain story about you and one of the other fair villains plaguing our dastardly city..."

Amy practically growled. "I don't know what you think you know, but that won't stop me from tickling you until you stop thinking you know it."

Vicky laughed. "You'll have to do a lot better than that!"

***

There might have been a time when their tickle fights didn't rapidly lead to sex, but it wasn't anytime since Amy had triggered. "Mmmm... I love you, Vicky," Amy whispered as she snuggled into Vicky's side, their earlier argument forgotten.

Vicky didn't say anything in reply, just smiled, kissed Amy on the forehead, and snuggled up herself. They'd have to get up for dinner soon enough, but for now it was nice just to cuddle.

And she could tease her sister about her villain crush some more later, when mom wouldn't be around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite it being a bad pun, I'm not a fan of the Glory Girl - Glory Hole thing. Maybe because I've usually seen it in a context where someone I like was being a jerk. Or because I don't like the idea of glory holes.
> 
> That probably wouldn't have led to anything if I hadn't realized "Hey, this version of GG wouldn't be at all interested, but someone would probably see the pun and write fic... and she's -totally- on board with people writing porn about her (rhymes with 'adoring') unless it's something truly repulsive."
> 
> -Alabaster- of all people - I can't actually remember why I picked him, other than for generally seeming outlandish.
> 
> when mom wouldn't be around. - Carol isn't as bad in MS as in some stories, but before Vicky's aura gets shut down she might not take Amy having a crush on any villains well. Even if pretty much every cape's got at least one for someone on the other side.


	39. Mauling a Different Canon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (What if the Taylor from the Mauling HnSW universe had a "Mauling Canon" event?)

(Mauling Canon... 3 or so)

For a while after coming to this universe, Anne had just been distracted.

Then she'd wondered if it was just her. After all, even though these were people she knew, they didn't really know -her-.

But after she got access to the local Wards area, and could see more of their private interactions, that explanation started seeming inadequate. So Anne decided to see if her local counterpart could clarify things for her.

"Hey, Taylor? Am I just missing something, or are none of the Wards having sex with each other?"

Taylor spit out her drink. "Wh-what kind of question is that?"

Anne wasn't sure why Taylor had reacted so extremely, but got a napkin and started cleaning up. At least it was just the table that needed cleaning and not Anne herself. "The kind I want to know the answer to?"

Taylor was a bit nonplussed at that response. "No. Well, maybe Dean and Vicky, but none of the others... and why would I know about it anyway?"

"And this doesn't strike you as unusual in any way?"

"No."

"Huh. That's really weird." Anne sighed. "Must be another difference between our worlds. Too bad for me, I guess." No sex wouldn't drive her crazy the way no using her powers would, but it'd been long enough that neither she nor Broadcast Administrator were very happy about it. But given how outlandish Taylor seemed to find the very suggestion, she was probably going to have to make do.

"So, does that mean you're in a relationship with someone in the Wards in your world?" Taylor asked.

"We're all friends, and there are several I'm a bit closer to than that, but I'm not sure I'd say any of those were a 'relationship' yet."

Taylor seemed to be taking a while to process that. "... Wait, are you saying you're sleeping with -all- the Wards?!"

Anne nodded. "Them, and Panacea and Glory Girl, Laserdream once, and some other people who aren't in the Wards here." Bringing up Tattletale would probably just confuse things, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to -think- about Shadow Stalker right now. Finding out that she was Sophia had rattled Anne more than she was currently willing to admit.

"Huh. I wonder where you find the time..." Taylor replied, seemingly not paying attention to Anne anymore, just staring at nothing.

Between that and the distant tone her voice had taken on, Anne thought she knew what was going through Taylor's mind. "You're thinking about something Emma said, aren't you?"

Taylor just nodded.

"Probably something along the lines of 'blah, blah, so ugly no one would ever want you, blah blah'? My Emma had her share of material like that."

"Yeah."

"I believed it for a while myself... but it couldn't hold up to spending much time with other parahumans. We may have increased sex drives, but it doesn't get rid of our sense of aesthetics in the process. It's really hard to believe you're ugly when so many people you find attractive are clearly attracted to you." Anne shook her head. "If you'd ended up in my world, no one would have tried to push you into anything, but at the very least Missy would have suggested a threesome with us."

If nothing else, being scandalized was enough to knock Taylor out of her growing funk. "Missy!? But she's so young! And... 'us'?"

"Missy's young by my world's standards too, but powers don't always care. At some point, it starts seeming more important for young parahumans to be with people who care about them and will make sure that they're safe, rather than trying to make the 'inappropriate' desires go away... because they won't. It just doesn't work." Anne shrugged. "And sure, why not? Now Dennis, he'd probably make jokes about threesomes with twins, but I think Missy's the one who would actually want to do it."

"Have I said before that your world sounds really strange?"

"I think it was shortly before the last time I said I felt the same way about yours."

***

Anne sighed. It wasn't that masturbating didn't help?

Just that, it didn't really help. Not much. The problem was, the drives her snark gave her weren't really for sexual pleasure as such, they were for sex with other parahumans specifically. Being by herself or with a non-parahuman could be fun, but it wasn't what she really needed.

And so now she was just laying here in the dark, hoping that either they'd find a way to get her home soon, or that she could find someone here. And if things here were like they were in the stories she'd read about things pre-Scion... that could be a challenge she wasn't really sure how to handle.

She wasn't too surprised when the door opened, since she'd felt the snark on the other side. "Hi, Taylor."

"Anne... you said that you consider yourself attractive," Taylor said. "And we look the same. So that must mean you think I'm attractive too."

"Yes," Anne replied. She didn't think she'd put it exactly that way, but what Taylor said was still true.

The door slid shut, and Anne heard something rustling. A few moments later, Taylor slid into bed with her, apparently just as naked as she was.

"Prove it," Taylor said.

Anne put her arms around Taylor's shoulders, but didn't go any further. "Do you actually want that?" she asked. Somehow... this didn't feel quite right.

"... No," Taylor replied, but made no move to pull away.

"Just want a hug, then?"

Taylor just nodded (which Anne could feel even if she couldn't see it very well), so Anne kept holding her. It took a while, but she seemed to relax.

"Feeling better?" Anne asked.

"Yeah," Taylor said. And kissed her.

<Query>

[Confusion. Query]

<Data>

[Confusion. Query]

<Elaboration>

[Confusion. Negation]

<Sadness>

_Shush._

"Also, I changed my mind," Taylor added.

Somehow, it felt right now.

***

(Mauling Canon 6)

The next few days were annoying. Missy had basically called Anne’s bluff regarding demonstrating _on_ the Wards and continued to pester her. Taylor had gotten injured by Hookwolf while on a patrol with Dean, likely by accident as they were fairly certain that neither Hookwolf nor Skidmark had even noticed the two Wards were there. Amy had reached out to her wanting to ‘hang out’, though that had turned out to be more 'examine Anne whenever possible' than anything else. Amy had been giving her some weird looks off and on though.

Finally, Amy seemed to have had enough. "Why are you in a state of at least mild arousal whenever I see you?" Amy asked, startling Anne. "I wouldn't even ask, but I can tell you're responding to me, yet I've never seen you checking me out or anything. It's weird."

Well, it wasn't exactly a secret. "I've spent a lot of time with my world's versions of you and your sister," Anne said. "I've been keeping it down since I know you're not her and this world is different anyway, but... when you're around it still feels like her? Like, I'll catch a glimpse of your hair, and before I can remind myself I'll be like, oh, it's... Amy... are you all right?"

Amy seemed to have frozen. "Me... and.... my sister?"

Anne was starting to feel alarmed. "Well... like I said, it's a different world? I don't know if you're even interested in girls here, let alone Vicky."

Amy slumped down with a sigh. "I am."

"Okay."

"I'm attracted to my sister."

"Okay."

"Shouldn't that -bother- you?"

Anne shrugged. "I don't see why. It's a bit -unusual- even in my world, but it's not a big deal either, as long as you're not hurting each other or using your familial relationship to manipulate people. And it doesn't sound like you've even told Vicky about it. I bet you don't spy on her in the shower or steal her underwear either. So what's the problem?"

Amy decided to ignore the 'stealing underwear' comment. And she had caught her sister bathing a couple times... but those were accidents! Probably. "No point in telling her anyway. I don't think she's interested in girls at all. And she's with Dean. Most of the time."

"My Vicky is with Dean 'most of the time' too," Anne said with a laugh. "Doesn't stop her from exploring her other options too. Though at least some of that has got to be my world. If your Vicky was like mine, you'd know. By definition, there's no hiding it."

Amy blinked. "By definition?"

"She's an exhibitionist."

"Oh." That wasn't an idea to calm Amy down. Or rather, it was one to get her worked up in a different way.

Anne was no stranger to having Amy sit down in her lap. She wasn't expecting this Amy to do that though.

"Anne. I'd been having enough trouble dealing with things before you put that image into my head. You'll take responsibility and help me with that, won't you?"

Anne had no objections to that whatsoever.

***

(Mauling Canon 14)

On one set of Earths parahumans found their powers fading for a couple of days, then returning seemingly as they'd been before... but almost always when they were in the shower. And then disappearing when they got dressed in quite a few cases.

Thankfully, Helvetia swung by and passed on some things before any real panic could get started. Maul and Panacea had been able to explain the basics, but hadn't been able to provide all the details on working around the Kovalenko effect. Especially since the requirements didn't seem to be the same between their worlds even for parahumans with the same powers.

With all of that information in place, it wasn't even a surprise anymore when the vast majority of parahumans started finding themselves increasingly horny...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did my plotless excuse for some selfcest turn into this?!
> 
> Oh wait, I'm writing it. Silly me.
> 
> Laserdream once - They like each other well enough, but their tastes in bed don't really line up. Well, it had to happen with someone.


	40. 10:1 Following the Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (chapter 83, Amy and Taylor are up late and bored)

_Amy: Oh. Hah! That’s hilarious._

_Taylor: What is?_

_Amy: The social rule b.99.1 claims that friends who can’t decide what to do for an hour have to default to sexual experimentation._

_Taylor: I'm guessing that book wasn't made with capes in mind._

_Amy: Yeah, it's hard to imagine two cape friends not coming up with that a lot faster than an hour, unless they're just not each other's type._

_Taylor: Is it just a really old book?_

_Amy: Doesn't look like it... hang on, let me check something._

_Amy: Yeah, I was right, it's an Aleph import._

_Taylor: That explains it._

_Taylor: I'm not sure what kind of sexual experimentation we could do from across town anyway._

_Amy: ... Hey, your phone should have the same video chat app mine does, right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they ended up with sexual experimentation after all.


	41. 10:2 Shared Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 86, Vicky learns about Amy and Taylor executing a kill order)

Vicky looked at some of the facepalming adults, then at Taylor being hugged by Danny, then at Amy. She then closed her eyes, _growling_ loud enough to cause Taylor and Amy to flinch away from her, before spinning around and punching the wall. With her strength enhancements apparently turned off, as the wall held.

She then turned around and gently tugged Amy over towards Taylor until they were close enough that she could engulf both girls in a hug of her own.

That was enough for them to relax, and start crying in relief that neither of their families was going to hate them over everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This barely counts as me writing anything, but... dammit, I feel like Taylor and Vicky are closer in this version of the setting, and it's not even exclusively because of the sex, that was just what broke the initial tension between them. So I feel compelled to establish that this was a thing that happened.


	42. 10:3 By Fair Means or Fairest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 121, Amy and Vicky take Taylor shopping for swimsuits)

Taylor glared at Amy, who ignored her, before sighing and continuing to look through the multi-piece swimsuits. Maybe she’d come back without the other two and get a nice one piece swimsuit or two later.

"Tell you what," Vicky said. "Every time you try on one of the suits I pick out, I'll give you a kiss."

Taylor looked over at Amy.

_Taylor: Am I really supposed to be giving in to bribery now?_

_Amy: Yes?_

Taylor looked back at Vicky, and had to admit that Amy had a point.

***

Things escalated quickly from there.

In the end, Taylor ended up buying several two-pieces that she hadn't strictly been planning to, including the one she'd been wearing when she finally dragged Vicky into the changing room with her. She did have to admit that they looked good on her though.

Vicky had been -very- vocal about that point.

Thankfully, she hadn't had to deal with more than a few knowing looks from the cashier when she'd just handed them the tags from a few items rather than the items themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could have been a bit inspired by [these](https://egscomics.com/comic/2015-07-10) [three](https://egscomics.com/comic/2015-07-13) [comics](https://egscomics.com/comic/2015-07-22). Except without the stopping or leaving.
> 
> Not that I -haven't- had fantasies about Ashley and Elliot's first time being in that changing room or anything.


	43. 10:4 But I Wanna See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 132, Taylor beats the record time on The Gauntlet by shoulder-checking the door)

Taylor sighed as she examined her sword, deciding to ignore their discussion on whether or not she’d broken the rules.

After far less argument than she'd expected, Nes made an announcement. "Our judges" - which mostly meant herself, as far as Taylor could tell - "have decided that Maul's time is valid. But we still want to see her chop through a door with her sword. So get back up here."

With another sigh, Taylor went back up. She might not have bothered trying the loophole if she'd known this would happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, it has nothing to do with the basic conceit of this series, it's just something that came to me when reading the scene and I decided to throw it in because it amused me.


	44. 10:5 Rare Opportunities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (After chapter 203, lunch with Missy's aunt Clara)

Taylor blinked as she realized that once again there was a familiar but unexpected snark waiting at home for her.

Though at least Clara had been polite enough to wait -outside- of her home. That earned the villain enough points that Taylor decided not to go out of her way to be rude to her. She simply parked her moped in the driveway for the moment before getting off and giving the other woman a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

"You've convinced me that there's no point in trying to convert my niece," Clara replied. "But given her age, I want to be sure that her coworkers are capable of properly meeting... -all- of her needs."

Taylor thought about it for a moment. "Not interested."

"I bet I can say three words that will change your mind."

"Oh?"

A second Clara appeared behind the one Taylor had been talking to and threw her arms around the first one's shoulders before replying smugly, "'Fivesome with quadruplets'."

_Taylor: ..._

_Amy: If you say no to her, I may never forgive you._

Taylor absently triggered the garage door open and moved her moped inside. "I don't think my home's got anywhere with that much room," she said.

Clara chuckled, knowing a 'yes' when she heard one. "You're resourceful. I'm sure you'll think of something."

***

In the end they made use of Taylor's pocket dimension, which was conveniently private since the workers had already finished for the day.

Amy sort of invited herself along, but Clara had absolutely no complaints about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jacen1 in the Mauling Snarks thread said this:
>
>> Plus, just about the only way to further escalate Maul's recruitment pattern would be for Clara to turn up naked in Taylor's bed, and that just won't fly on this forum....
> 
> And so I just had to run with it, but I also figured Clara's not nearly stupid enough to do literally that. Also, she's supposed to be in costume here (since she used her powers and all), but given Taylor's 'refer to capes by civilian identity if known' thing I wasn't sure how to make that obvious.
> 
> I believe this may be the first time I've had any pairings in this story with a 'generational' age difference.


	45. 11:1 Yes and Yes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 32, Taylor's classmates interrogate her about the new Wards.)

"Do you know what Grue looks like under his costume?" got a deadpanned "How do you think I'd know that? I'm not the kind of pervert that spies on locker rooms." Inference Engine had told her, but she wasn't going to mention that. Unfortunately, this didn't work to distract people from asking further questions.

"Do you know what Mycroft looks like under her costume? Because that wouldn’t be spying if you just happened to be in there when she was, right?" the same student asked right afterwards. When Taylor replied "I've never been in a locker room when Mycroft was there", the girl walked away with a dejected sigh.

Then someone started asking about powers and she was finally able to get the crowd distracted enough that she could actually eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taylor sure gets a lot of mileage out of saying things that aren't actually answers to the question someone was asking. In a way it's jarring compared to the "ask questions training" theme where in other contexts she'll give straight-up answers if asked directly.
> 
> I mean, yeah, the context is different, but maybe it's unsurprising that the other Wards don't always think asking her things will help when they see her doing so much trolling at school.


	46. 11:2 The Fun That Wasn't Had In A Locker Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 35, Dinner with New Wave, who aren't all in on Taylor's secret identity.)

"So Taylor," Crystal said after a lull in conversation. "You are on record as having claimed to have met Maul in a locker room. Did you and Maul change at the same time, or was one of you just passing through?"

"I suppose I can admit that so far every visit of mine to a locker room to change where Maul made an appearance Maul was changing as well," Taylor replied. "There aren’t that many other reasons to be in them, after all."

"You never know, she could have wanted to know if she could bend you over one of the sinks and pound you until you both pass out," Crystal offered.

Taylor blinked. It was... an _arresting_ mental image, in a totally impossible kind of way, but...

Mistaking the source of Taylor's momentary speechlessness, Crystal continued. "Well, it could happen! Trust me, whatever you've seen or done in the locker room at your school, it's nothing compared to what can happen in a locker room used by parahumans. And Maul's costume kind of makes her look like she'd be that type."

Taylor hadn't had much involvement with that at Winslow or Arcadia, but she knew exactly what Crystal was talking about as far as that went. "I think I can be almost certain that I'll never do anything like that with Maul, in a locker room or otherwise," she replied. Given some of the powers out there, she couldn't quite rule out the possibility, but it seemed unlikely.

Cue one round of smirks, snickering, giggles, and odd looks all around. Mostly amusement for Dean and the Dallons, and odd looks from the Pelhams, but Taylor was pretty sure Amy and possibly Vicky were imagining things they could do with two of her and finding the idea to their liking.

"I don’t see the humor," Eric finally admitted, turning to his sister. "Do you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Parahuman families can be pretty blunt about certain things.
> 
> Well, so can a lot of people in the setting, but it wouldn't seem unusual to Crystal for a non-parahuman (as she thinks Taylor is) to be a bit more shy.
> 
> Also, I think I know what Crystal wanted that wasn't really to Taylor's tastes now.
> 
> There'd have to be some other changes later in this scene due to the differences in the Shadow Stalker situation, but I haven't got any good ideas on that front right now.


	47. 11:3 Well That's Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 212, The press conference after Amy and Taylor's link is revealed publicly.)

"Now then," Colin said, which caused some of the murmuring to suddenly stop. People thought the press conference was over, after all. Most of those on the stage included. "I’m told that we’re cleared to run a combination test and demonstration. I shall recommend that the camera crews shift to watch the action soon to happen over the water." He then turned around, and Taylor spotted a grin forming on his face.

Turning around herself, Taylor's face went pale.

_Taylor: Oh hell._

_Amy: What? What's wrong?_

_Taylor: I told you what happened when I fired this thing, right?_

_Amy: ...Yeah?_

_Taylor: And we're trying to keep people from panicking and doing stupid things, right?_

_Amy: Yeah?_

_Taylor: I don't really think revealing "causing mass destruction gives me intense pleasure" is going to send the right message here!_

_Amy: ... Okay, that could be a problem._

_Taylor: A problem?!_

Taylor's panicking was interrupted by a text message from Dragon.

**D: There will be a visual and sound shield around the bench 'for safety reasons'. We'll clean everything up afterwards, all you have to do is fire the gun and then you can escape on your platform.**

**T: Wait, you knew?**

**T: Never mind, of course you knew.**

**T: WHY IS THIS EVEN BEING ALLOWED?!?**

**D: A whole lot of people in your chain of command really like explosions.**

Taylor sighed and headed for the platform, toggling the sense-sharing switch to off.

<BA: Query>

_Amy: No, that's probably a bad idea. If it feeds back, we might pass out instead._

<BA: Acceptance>

***

Taylor recovered a bit faster than Amy, probably due to her prior experience, and was able to get them both onto her platform before triggering the recall function to take them back to the PRT building.

It was still a half hour before either of them completely stopped giggling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first I wrote Taylor having an orgasm from firing the railgun. Then a new MS chapter had Amy and Taylor firing the railgun again as a public spectacle.
> 
> Me: Well that's awkward.
> 
> I actually misread the chapter the first time as having Amy and Taylor leave immediately rather than going back up on the stage first. Which is a contributing factor in why they do so here.  
> It has, of course, been shown in more recent chapters that nothing has stopped people from panicking and doing stupid things.
> 
> Shaper's sense-sharing would not have caused feedback no matter what setting it was on, but they don't know that for certain and aren't willing to take the risk.


	48. 11:4 Tired of Waiting For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 221, Dragon gets new bodies.)

Reverse Engineering would have sighed if it was equipped to do so.

After going for years without it looking like it was even a possibility, it's host finally had a human (or a human -enough-) body. Two, in fact. That was good.

Now if only she'd settle down in the older body for long enough to develop a damn sex drive! Reverse Engineering felt it had waited -entirely- too long for a chance to get together with Efficiency or Broadcast Administrator as it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will -not- be suggesting any sexual activity involving little Theresa. I have lines and she's on the wrong side of them.
> 
> Involving big Theresa and Taylor... I think RE's going to be disappointed here, given that I've decided incest and intergenerational sex are both rare in this setting, and this would be both.


	49. What Remains Hidden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, I got distracted by Doki Doki Literature Club and forgot to post the next batch of snips here. (I've also made some minor presentation fixes to batch 11.)
> 
> (Chapter 161, Taylor is starting to recover from fighting Quarrel.)

_Taylor: Are you okay in there?_

_Amy: I'm fine. Go to your meeting._

Case in point. Still, she needed some time to wrap her head around her own emotions. Finding out that no, Taylor _wasn't_ shutting down her emotions in any way regarding 'killing' the Butcher had been concerning, because doing what she’d done to a snark _shouldn't_ have been easy for her. Finding out _why_ she wasn't shutting them down was a different matter entirely, because she had no qualms about doing it to protect _Amy_.

At that point, Amy had grabbed Taylor and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. If it'd been her sister in Amy's place, she probably would have gone quite a bit further, but Jessica was still right there and Amy liked her privacy.

Actually, Vicky probably -would- do something like that when or if she learned of Taylor's reasoning. Being protective of Amy was something her sister greatly approved of.

The good thing about kissing Taylor that Amy did -not- want to admit was that it'd kept her from doing other things with her mouth. A little physical expression of gratitude between friends was one thing. She had no clue _how_ Taylor would take being told that her feelings were moving out of the realm of simple friendship, and wasn't about to risk her relationship with the other girl over something like that. After what the Barnes bitch had done to her? She was probably lucky Taylor could handle even this much.

This was like her attraction to Vicky all over again, wasn't it? Sure, that had worked out all right in the end, but she was all too aware of how much potential there was for her to screw up bigtime here. Even without the added complications from being adopted siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought that Amy and Taylor don't have the "are they/aren't they" tension in this setting, you were wrong, even if the form is a bit different.
> 
> Maybe not that different though. It's one thing to sleep with someone. It's another thing to stay with them. In any case, this is the place in canon where I start not being able to believe Amy -isn't- romantically interested in Taylor, so this Amy is a bit more direct with it in her thoughts, if not her actions...
> 
> I'm not convinced "Don't tell Taylor how you feel" is actually a good plan here or in canon, mind you, though I don't think Taylor will be inclined to sitcom or drama-esque overreactions either way.


	50. Your Mask Is Nice, But You Don't Need It Either

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 186, Another morning trip to the gym.)

Saturday morning Taylor beat Amy and Missy to the gym, as well as avoiding all of the potential crazies. She thought it was a pretty good accomplishment, all things considered. Still, she found that the gym wasn’t empty this morning, a couple of PRT officers were using it. Which wasn’t a problem, it wasn’t like she had to worry about her own secret identity anymore. Well, that, and out of curiosity she’d checked and found that you had to be cleared for Wards identities as part of being allowed in this part of the gym at all.

It did leave her wondering why the pool-friendly domino masks were there though, if no one who should be in there should need hiding from anyway. Enough so that she decided to ask the others for their thoughts later.

***

"Maybe in case you've got someone who refuses to reveal their identity to the team like Sophia used to?" Missy offered. "Though I don't think I've ever seen her exercise in here, even after I gave her the access keys pamphlet."

Taylor suppressed a wince at the unexpected mention of her erstwhile tormentor. Even given what had happened between them since, and what she now knew about how the other girl's power had been pushing her, Sophia was still a bit of a sore spot in some ways. "I asked her about that once. She said she gets enough exercise in her civilian identity already. And she doesn't like swimming, so I can't entice her with the pool."

"Huh." After exercising in silence for a while, Missy added, "I know I suggested it, but that doesn't actually seem like a good enough explanation to me. I don't think I ever saw any provisions being made for her that didn't count as essential in some way. I think they'd have just made her buy a pool-friendly mask herself if she wanted one."

"Maybe we're overthinking this," Amy offered. When the other two gave her a look, she continued. "It's a parahuman thing that we don't understand. And what's the second most likely explanation for a parahuman thing you don't understand?"

"... That it's a sex thing?" Missy replied cautiously, getting a nod from Amy.

Taylor frowned. "I know I've read about capes that prefer to be masked even when they know each other's identities, but I don't think the PRT would make any special provisions for that either."

None of them could come up with any better ideas, and by the time the three left to get breakfast the subject had been dropped in favor of talking about the upcoming meet and greet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by me wondering about the issue, though some of the suggested reasons obviously don't apply to canon. The obvious suggestion not brought up is that they're just intended for Protectorate members, but I'm assuming the gym in the Rig has it's own pool and they're encouraged to use that, and also that answer isn't funny.
> 
> I suppose it'd also be in character for this version of the PRT to have them there just to mess with Wards who don't realize that being there implies clearance and don't ask about it.
> 
> second most likely explanation - The first most likely is, of course, "powers are bullshit".


	51. Mary's Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sometime not long after chapter 190, Mary and Tori are awake and find grey slop from a jar delicious?!)

Sphere had unquestionably been a genius at life support systems. There was simply no other way to describe the way the life pods meant to get his daughters out of danger for months at most before returning to Earth had managed to keep them safe and sane (if not perfectly well-adjusted) for -years- instead.

However, there were certain effects of spending certain critical years with only each other for company that couldn't have been predicted...

***

_Amy: Fair warning, I'm going to be checking on Mary and Tori in a bit._

_Taylor: Wait, what happened?_

_Amy: A nurse went to check on them, found Tori on the floor next to Mary's bed, both unconscious. Neither seemed to be injured, but they can't tell what happened. I was already out with Vicky, so she's giving me a ride over to the Rig to check on them._

Taylor shrugged and continued reading while waiting for something to happen. It didn't take long.

_Amy: What the hell?_

_Taylor: Is it even safe for them to have that many endorphins in their system?_

_Amy: It shouldn't be a problem, though they'd probably wake up with one hell of a headache if I wasn't tweaking things a bit._

_Taylor: What... oh, I see. Huh. But what caused it?_

_Amy: Hang on, let me check something._

_Amy: Okay, I think I know what happened._

_Taylor: ... Well?_

_Amy: It looks like Tori made her way over and kissed Mary, and the taste of each other's lips was so good that they chain-orgasmed until they passed out._

_Taylor: ..._

_Taylor: Not sure if I should be jealous or not._

_Amy: I don't think they would have stayed awake long enough to really enjoy it._

_Taylor: Okay, not jealous then._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 190 says that the simulation Mary and Tori were in didn't adjust their avatars properly. I'm interpreting that as their avatars having grown along with them, but not correctly matching their actual growth. Because that makes things less weird.


	52. Why Didn't You Just Ask?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sometime after chapter 221, Dragon gets new bodies.)  
> (Non-canon to Mauling HnSW.)

"I'm home!" Amy called as she came through the door. A moment later Carol poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Oh, Amy. Theresa came by to see you. When I told her you weren't here, she said she'd wait in your room," Carol said. Then she snickered before going back to what she was doing.

Amy frowned. What was that about?

What she found when she got to her room didn't exactly answer her question so much as give her new questions.

"Theresa, why are you masturbating on my bed?"

Theresa didn't respond, at least not by speaking. But she did send Amy a link.

**D: Stepmother Catches Stepdaughter - InternationalHouseOfPorn.Com**

Amy frowned.

_Amy: Taylor?_

_Taylor: Yes?_

_Amy: When you gave Dragon 'the talk', did you include not believing everything she saw in internet porn? Or, indeed, believing -anything- she saw in internet porn?_

_Taylor: I didn't think I needed to. Why?_

_Amy: I'm sending you a link now._

The series of expressions that went over Theresa's face as Taylor read her the riot act was very amusing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a comment from sstabeler of Ao3 on "Tired of Waiting For You".
> 
> Even in a porn logic world, relying on porn for accurate information about sex is a bad idea. This is non-canon because I don't think Dragon would actually do this (or be that particular kind of naive), but the idea amused me too much to not write down.
> 
> snickered - Carol found Dragon referring to Amy as her stepmother to be very amusing.
> 
> Even in non-canon land, Amy and Taylor are not (yet?) actually dating/known to be dating. Dragon is just being presumptive. And spilling the beans. Actually that's another good reason to make this non-canon, because it'd bring the "yeah, everyone basically thinks you're a couple already" to light.


End file.
